The Perfect Summer
by lyoko-scipio-1114
Summary: UxY, AxJ, some OxSam. Ulrich wants this summer to change everything between him and Yumi. Odd becomes an odd Odd, and an unexpected plan may emerge. Anything can happen over the summer..... Will it be a perfect summer after all? R&R please! CH. 14 IS UP!
1. The First Day of Summer

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Code Lyoko, but I DO own this story and my other fanfic.**

**Hey to all my readers! Please read and review, but no flames! **

**Thanks! Now On With The Fiction!**

Chapter One – The First Day of Summer

The Kadic Academy school bell rang out all over campus. Summer was finally here. Kids ran out of every door in the main building. The sidewalks flooded in seconds. Mr. Delmas, the principal, decided to do something with the school over summer break that he had never thought about before. Thanks to Sissi.

"_Daddy, can we open the option to the students to let them stay over summer break, if they want to?" Sissy had whined to her father two months ago. _

"_I'll think about it, darling. Now run off to class," her father had replied. _

Of course, with great consideration and the occasional bribing, Mr. Delmas mailed a permission slip home to all the parents. He set up a pick-up time for all the kids who weren't staying over the summer. The whole Lyoko gang was staying over the break, including Aelita, but the story was different for Odd. His mom didn't send in a permission slip allowing him to stay. The days until pick-up day were getting closer, and Odd still didn't know whether he would be able to stay.

What Sissi was really hoping for out of this situation was to convince Ulrich to stay over summer break, so that she could try to get him to like her. Well, he had news for her. He had already planned to stay over, but not because of her, but because of one of his close friends. He hoped that this summer would change everything between him and Yumi.

"Summer at last," Ulrich said unlocking his dorm room door later that night after dinner. A strong stench made him grab his nose and burst into a loud cough. "Odd! Oh, Odd, that's gross! Put your shoes back on!" He said going into the room holding his nose due to the stench of Odd's feet. Even Kiwi, Odd's dog, had his nose buried deep beneath the blanket mound on Ulrich's bed.

"Sorry about the smell, buddy, but my mom just called and said that I can stay!!! I don't have to go home now! Just think, a whole summer with my best bud!" Odd said smiling and flopping down on his bed. Ulrich closed the door and laid down on his own bed. His mind was racing about Yumi.

_When should I see her to ask if she wants to do something? What would I say without freezing up in front of her and making a fool out of myself?_

_Where will we go? What if I screw up and end up messing it all up for us? _

_Well, I'll figure it all out after tonight. One night's rest should straighten my brain out. _

Ulrich let his eyes sweep across his bedside clock. The glowing read bars formed a block-like 9:14 as the time.

_Ah, a little sleep won't hurt. Give me time to figure out what to do with Yumi. _

Ulrich closed his eyes sleepily and drifted off to sleep. He was in a peaceful slumber until he felt a strange vibrating in his pocket. Ulrich awoke to a start. He stretched, grabbed his cell phone out of his pocket, and glanced at the caller-Id.

9:37

Yumi's Cell

895-548-1567

Ulrich smiled to himself and took the phone call.

"Hello?" Ulrich said.

"Hi, Ulrich. How are you?" Yumi said slightly shakily.

"I'm fine, what's going on Yumi, you sound worried." Ulrich said, a bit worried himself.

"I am a little worried, to tell you the truth, Ulrich. My parents. . ." She paused. "My parents, well, you see, they went on vacation, and haven't called yet. I know it sounds silly, but I want to know if they made it ok, and there is no cell service. I don't know what to do. I'm here all alone because Hiroki asked if he could sleep over at a friend's house. Oh, what should I do?" she spoke softly into the cell phone.

Ulrich paused, deciding mentally what he should do. "I'll tell you what, Yumi. How about I come over there to make you feel better. Maybe with someone else in the house will make you calm down. How's that sound?"

"Sounds great. I don't know how my parents would react, you coming over this late and all, but I really need it. How are you going to get over here without 'Night Patrol Jim' catching you?"

"Don't worry. Odd'll keep watch outside Jim's room and phone me if something's up. I'll sneak out the front gate and head over there. See you in a minute, Yumi." Ulrich said with a hint of pleasure in his voice.

_Maybe I won't have to wait until tomorrow. Well, let's not rush it. I'll figure it out. _

Ulrich slipped on his sneakers and grabbed his room key. He slid out of the room, just to find Odd getting a drink at the fountain across the hall. "Odd," he said. "Odd! I'm going over to Yumi's house; she's all alone and is worried because her parents didn't call her from their vacation. I'll be back sometime before tomorrow. Call me on my cell if you want." Ulrich said, waving good-bye to Odd.

"Wait! Its like--what time is it? Oh, oh yeah--ALMOST TEN O'CLOCK AT NIGHT! Hey, you said you'd be alone with Yumi tonight, where's Hiroki?"

"Yumi said he went to a friend's house to sleep over. Why?"

"Well, I know if I was in you situation, and Yumi was Sam, I'd make my move tonight." Odd said with a slight smile.

"I don't know, she's under enough stress already. And besides, I don't have anything prepared. Ah, I have to go; I don't want Yumi to think that something happened to me." Ulrich replied turning towards the door.

"Good luck! I'll cover for you and Yumi if you're not back in the morning.


	2. Just Do It

Chapter 2 – Just do it, kiss her.

The crisp night air brushed against Ulrich's face when he opened the door of the building.

_So far so good. No sign of Jim's Night Patrol. Let's try to keep it that way, Stern. _

Ulrich ran across the soccer field towards the gate. As he approached it, he was careful not to crack any twigs or make noise, given he didn't know where to expect the Night Patrol. Ulrich cautiously drew near the gate, took one last look around for the Night Patrol, and advanced through the gate.

Once he was far enough away from the school to be detected by noise, he walked slowly down the street towards the Ishiyama's. Ulrich's head was racing in circles about what he should say to Yumi. He slowly climbed the steps. His finger pressed the doorbell and released it. Ding-dong. Footsteps. The door creaked open.

"Hi, Ulrich. Glad you could come, might calm me down a little now," Yumi said, motioning for Ulrich to come in, and closed the door behind him. He took his seat on the couch next to Yumi.

"I'm glad to be here, Yumi. Anything that I can do to cheer you up?" he asked shyly.

"You already cheered me up, just having you here cheered me up," she said with a smile. Ulrich blushed slightly.

"Listen, Yumi, I wanted . . . Well, you see . . . I was wondering . . ." he staggered.

"Can you use full sentences? I can't understand you when you don't," Yumi replied. The two laughed slightly. Ulrich paused before continuing.

_Deep breaths, take deep, slow breaths. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. Go!_

"I know that you don't want to mess up our friendship, and I respect that, but . . ."

_Just say it, Stern. Just say it. _

"I want to be more than friends," Ulrich said as calmly as he could. He waited for Yumi to react.

Yumi sat in silence, and a small, salty, clear tear ran down her face. Another followed shortly.

"Yumi, what's wrong? Oh, ok, I guess you don't want to be more than friends, I get it. I was wrong," he said with a look of slight disappointment in his face. He hung his head slightly and got up off of the couch.

"No, no, Ulrich," Yumi said, reaching for his hand and pulling him back down on the couch. "I do. I'm crying because I'm happy, I've waited so long for this. You just looked like you didn't want to, so I just kept quiet." Another tear ran down her cheek. Ulrich took his finger and wiped it away. Yumi moved closer to Ulrich on the couch. Ulrich embraced Yumi in a hug that seemed to last forever.

_Ring! Ring!_

"Ulrich, that's your cell. Answer it."

"No. They can leave a message," he replied, not ending the hug.

_Ring! Ring!_

"It'll just keep ringing!" Yumi said.

"It's fine."

_Ring! Ring!_

"Ulrich! Answer you phone, please!" Yumi said, a slight tone of amusement in her voice.

"Fine, but I don't want to. I'm making it quick," he replied.

"Neither do I," she said, breaking off the hug. Ulrich reached into his pocket and grabbed his cell phone. Glancing at the caller ID, he saw it was Odd.

"Odd! Make it quick! What is it?" he said frantically.

"Hey! Sorry, buddy! Just callin' to see if you made your move with Yumi yet. I would if you didn't already, time's a-wastin'!" Odd said snickering, not aware of the situation.

"Odd! I, I, ah, I'll tell you later. I've got to go. Yumi wants to talk with me. Bye!" Ulrich said ending the call.

"Ulrich, I'm really glad that you said that, now I truly know how you feel," Yumi said, moving closer to Ulrich on the couch.

Ulrich hesitated shyly, but then slowly leaned closer to Yumi. She did the same thing. They paused when their lips were almost touching for a moment. Ulrich could feel Yumi's breath, and Yumi could feel Ulrich breathing.

_This is it, Ulrich, the moment that you've been waiting for. Do it. Kiss her. _

Ulrich gently placed a delicate kiss on Yumi's lips. She kissed him back.


	3. Odd and His Songs

Chapter 3 – Odd and His Songs

A strange vibrating sensation woke Yumi in a start. She reached into her pants pocket and grabbed her cell phone. Glancing at the time, she realized it was already 8:00.

_Man, I had the weirdest dream last night, _she thought. _I dreamt that Ulrich came over here, and . . . and . . . we kissed. But it felt so real. _

Ulrich groaned sleepily on the end of the couch. Yumi and Ulrich had fallen asleep on the couch together late last night. Yumi's eyes drifted over to him.

_Ulrich? Oh! It must not have been a dream! Wait, that means . . . That means I really kissed Ulrich! It's all coming back to me now. We kissed last night and then we found out it was late, and so then we ended up falling asleep together on the couch. What a night. I should wake him up now. But he looks so cute when he's sleeping, what with that little smile on his face. Wonder if he's dreaming. Maybe he's dreaming about me. Or he could be dreaming that Odd fell into a pool of whipped cream. Hope he's dreaming about me._

Yumi sat up slowly, cautious of Ulrich's still sleeping body. She tiptoed over to the other end of the couch, knelt down to his height, and whispered in his ear.

"Wake up sleepy head! It's 8:00 in the morning!" When he didn't even do the slightest stir, she kissed him lightly on the cheek. This got him awake fast.

He shot up and blinked twice. He turned to look at Yumi. "Did you just kiss me? Or was I dreaming again?"

Yumi smiled. "I just kissed you, you weren't dreaming. You wouldn't wake up, and that's the best surprise 'wake up' message that I could think of. Do you remember last night at all?" she asked.

"Not really. But I had the weirdest dream that we kissed and fell asleep together on the couch. Wait a minute . . ." The facts started compiling in his head. Mentally he sorted them and put them in order. Suddenly he realized something. "I wasn't dreaming, was I? We really did kiss, didn't we! And that's why you weren't afraid to kiss me to wake me up! Am I right?"

"Yeah." Ulrich leaned closer and kissed Yumi again.

"You're a good kisser," Yumi replied with another swift kiss on the cheek. Yumi stood up and took Ulrich's hand in hers and pulled him off of the couch. They hugged, and Yumi's eyes drifted over to the Japanese style clock on the nearby wall.

"Ulrich, we should really head to the school now. If we're not back by 9:00, I'm sure Jim will investigate and we'll surely get in trouble. It's like almost 8:30 now, so let me go change quickly and we'll go back to school." Yumi headed upstairs as Ulrich sat in a chair. Moments passed, and Yumi came down wearing her normal, plain, black outfit. Black belly-shirt, black pants, the usual.

"You look very cute in that outfit today, Yumi. Very _very _cute. Hot, almost." Yumi smiled as Ulrich placed his arms tightly around her waste. For the third time already today, he placed a kiss on her lips. She smiled, and he took her hand inside of hers. They walked out of the Ishiyama household and down the street. Ulrich let go of her hand momentarily, but replaced it on her hip.

When they arrived at the school, the two snuck into the dorm building. They walked up the stairs cautiously, in fear that Jim would detect them, and finally reached Ulrich and Odd's dorm. Ulrich placed the key in the keyhole and unlocked the door. They stepped inside. No sign of Odd.

"Hey, Yumi, I'm going to change my clothes, if you want to go out in the hall, you can, or you can stay in here and play with Kiwi, where is that adorable little mutt, anyway? Come here, boy! Come here Kiwi! Where are you?" Ulrich opened the drawer where Kiwi's makeshift bed was. When he peered inside it, he got a thorough licking. "I missed you too, little buddy. Where's Odd?" Ulrich said, talking to Kiwi.

Kiwi ran over to Yumi, who sat herself down on Ulrich's bed, with her back facing his. He changed into his new clothes, and out the door they went. They met Odd, Jeremie, and Aelita outside near the soccer field. Ulrich took his arm off of Yumi's hip while they were walking, as they had agreed that they would keep their relationship a secret for now. Their own little secret, it would have to stay, because they feared that Odd would have the news spread like wildfire.

"Hi, guys!" Yumi said.

"Hey! So, did you get Yumi all calmed down last night Ulrich?" Aelita asked.

"Yeah." Ulrich and Yumi exchanged glances, knowing that he did more than just calm her down.

"Well, I have to go now. I'm developing new technology for the Super Computer," Jeremie said, waving 'bye' to everyone.

"I'll come with you! Maybe I could help, Jeremie," Aelita said, running off in Jeremie's direction.

"Hey, Ulrich, I have to go check on Kiwi, wanna come?" Odd asked.

"Nah, I think I'm going to stay here with Yumi." He winked.

"Oh, ok. See you later!" _Lovebirds. Go Ulrich! _He thought under his breath. Ulrich and Yumi walked off to a different bench under a tree, and when Odd looked over his shoulder, he saw Ulrich place his hands around Yumi and kiss her again.

_YES! I knew it! Go Ulrich and Yumi! . . . Ulrich and Yumi sitting in a tree . . . Hey, why am I singing this?! Stop, Odd, stop. Oh, hey, seeing them kiss made me remember that I have to call Sam back. She said something about wanting to have a group get together here at the school, and possibly a dinner outing. Fun! _


	4. The Shattered Camera

**Hey guys! I know the chapters are short, but bear with me! They should get longer as the story goes on! (This chapter is kinda random, but it seemed like something to add to make it somewhat funnier!)**

**I am currently editing chapter 5, and it should be up in a few days! **

**Thanks, now on with the fiction!**

Chapter 4 – The Shattered Camera

"Hey, Sam. It's Odd, I got your message on my phone, figured I'd call you when I got the chance. So, did you get any new information about you coming to Kadic over the summer break?" Odd said into the cell phone.

"Yeah. I can come. Since we moved so close to the school, my parents were fine with it. Want to meat me in like fifteen minutes outside in the soccer field?" Sam asked.

"Sure! Oh! Guess what! Ulrich - wait . . . he didn't want me to say quite yet . . . Yeah, I'll be there with the gang in like fifteen minutes, see you then, Sam!" Odd hung up.

_Finally I get to see Sam again. I haven't seen her in ages. Well, I saw her two months ago, but then she moved away. Good thing she's back! I can't go long without her!_

Odd made sure that he had his room key before slamming the door and skating off down the hallway. Sam was coming. Soon. He was delighted. In less than fifteen minutes, he would be able to hold Sam in his arms again. _His _Sam. No one else's. _Just_ _His. _

He skateboarded along the path towards the soccer field. Sure enough, when he got closer, he could see Ulrich and Yumi still sitting together on the bench under the tree. It was almost as if they were frozen in time. His skateboard wheels made so much noise on the textured path that Yumi and Ulrich detected him coming thirty feet away.

Ulrich glanced up at the approaching Odd. His face wore an ear-to-ear grin. Ulrich instinctively knew that it had something to do with Sam.

In their few years of being together at Kadic, Ulrich learned Odd's personality very well. He knew that Odd only smiled like that when it had something to do with Sam. This time, he was sure of it, was no different.

"What's up, buddy? Is Sam coming or something? You're smiling like a laughing hyena," Ulrich said, Yumi giggled softly.

"Yea-" Odd started, but was interrupted by the faint roll of skateboard wheels.

_Sam! I know it's her! She's early! I don't have to wait! YES!_

Odd scampered away on his skateboard. Ulrich and Yumi rose to watch Odd come to an abrupt stop ten feet away from another human. Sam stepped off her skateboard, and ran to Odd. Odd met her halfway, and embraced her in a hug. It was tough to see the full details, due to the large amount of trees around them. Ulrich grabbed Yumi's hand and pulled her to another tree, one closer to Sam and Odd. Once they were close enough, they not only had a great up-close view, but could hear everything they were saying.

"_I missed you, Sam. More than you can imagine," Odd whispered._

"_I can imagine how much you missed me, because I missed you just as much. My life has been chaos lately, but I'm glad to be somewhere where I feel at home." Sam looked up at Odd. He smiled, and then kissed her. _

"Aww, look at that! Thats so cute!" Yumi whispered with a smile. Ulrich looked up to her sparkling eyes, and placed his hand around her waste.

"Yeah, it is very cute. Like you," he said placing a lingering kiss on her lips. She depended the kiss. Odd and Sam must have detected them because they tiptoed over to Ulrich and Yumi's tree, where they peered around the tree.

Odd's face lit up with a smile. He had an idea. Motioning to Sam to follow, he tiptoed to a tree about ten feet from Ulrich and Yumi. He had a perfect view of them, yet Ulrich and Yumi never ended their kiss. Odd pulled out a palm-sized camera.

"One . . . Two . . ." he whispered. "Three!" He snapped the camera button down. "One picture isn't enough! MORE!"

_Click! Click! _

Odd zoomed in closer, so that he could get a picture of just their faces.

_Click! Click! _

"Five pictures are enough, I think, Odd," Sam said. "Save some space!"

"Shh! I think I see some tongue action!" He stepped closer, and snapped more pictures.

"Odd! That's a little invasion of privacy! What are you planning to do with the pictures anyway?" Sam questioned softly. _Jeez, when are they ever going to stop kissing!?!_

"Oh, well, Milly and Tamiya are still doing the Newspaper, and I figured that an 'anonymous person' would 'tip off' the girls with some pictures about a certain 'new' relationship." He smiled.

"Odd! Would you like someone to do that to you?!"

"Well, to tell you the truth, I was also thinking about doing the same thing with us . . . since we _are _a couple now, aren't we? I want to."

"Yes, Odd, we are," Sam said kissing odd on the cheek.

"Good."

Ulrich and Yumi broke apart finally. Ulrich gazed into Yumi's eyes.

_I love how her eyes sparkle like that. I just get lost in those eyes. Its like a whole perfect world is inside of those eyes, and I am part of it. _

Odd tiptoed closer to their tree, trying to get another priceless picture of their expressions. He made one mistake, and started to fast walk.

_Crack! _

A twig snapped under Odd's weight. _"Shoot!" _he thought to himself.

Ulrich and Yumi turned around to see odd in mid-step, holding a camera in his palm. "Odd, why do you have a camera? Were you taking pictures of us? How long were you here for?" Ulrich questioned.

"I, I, uh," Odd stammered. "About five minutes?" he said innocently.

"FIVE MINUTES!!! Why? Did you take pictures of us . . . kissing?" Yumi interrogated. An innocent, squeaky 'yes' escaped Odd's lips.

"Why would you do that? What are you planning to do?"

"Uh, I . . . I was going to 'anonymously' tip off Milly and Tamiya with some 'secret photos' and then tip them of with some 'exclusive information.'" Sam shook her head inside of her hands.

"Odd! Give me the camera! Now! Come on! Give it here!" Ulrich demanded, growing slightly angry.

"No! Catch me if you can!" Odd let out a burst of laughter, and started running around in a big circle. Ulrich rolled his eyes and launched Odd's skateboard at his feet.

"Whoa!" _Thud. _Odd hit the ground, and in the process, smashed the camera on a rock. "Aw, you smashed the camera! It wasn't even mine!" Odd said getting off of the ground and wiping some of the dirt off his face.

"Who's camera was it?" Ulrich questioned.

"It was mine! That camera was mine and you just smashed it, Odd! Nice going! Now I have to buy another camera!" Sam shouted and stormed off.

"Great going, Ulrich. Now I have to replace her camera! I can't believe you did that! You could have just asked for it!"

"I'll buy her another camera, Odd, it was partially my fault that it broke. Go talk to her, she's gonna be mad if you don't trust me." Ulrich motioned to the direction that Sam was walking in.

"Yeah. I'll tell her that you will replace the camera. I'm not." Odd turned, waved to Ulrich and Yumi, and ran after Sam.

"Thats so cute. They're a couple now! But now I have to replace Sam's camera. Stupid me," Ulrich said placing his arm around Yumi.

"Your not stupid, don't say that Ulrich. You will never be stupid." She leaned down and kissed him lightly. He grasped her hand inside his and they walked off together to the Ishiyama household to check on Hiroki.


	5. The Collision

Chapter 5 – The Collision

Odd managed to get Sam calmed down enough to persuade her to go with the group out to dinner. She smiled, and agreed, finally.

She grabbed her skateboard and followed Odd to the rest of the group. They headed off together to the restaurant down the street. Odd and Sam were skating off in the beginning, with Aelita and Jeremie on their scooters riding behind them before, and bringing up the rear was Ulrich and Yumi on their skateboards.

As the group got closer to the restaurant, Odd began a conversation with Sam to pass the time, since they had to take a detour past a construction site, which delayed them even longer than Odd and Sam's camera fit this morning.

The rest of the group immersed themselves in their own private conversations, Jeremie and Aelita babbling away on their scooters about something to do with the Super Computer, whereas Yumi and Ulrich were just talking amongst themselves about this morning's incident.

"This morning was crazy. Why would he do something like that to us, Ulrich? I mean, take those pictures and all . . . it's weird." Yumi questioned

"I don't think it's all that strange, seeing how we _are _talking about Odd, and all. It was just like him to do something like that. I'm just glad the pictures didn't get out, although in preventing a virtual disaster, I am the one to blame for Sam's camera getting smashed."

"Oh well, buying a new camera is better than having the whole school know about this morning, I mean, Jeremie and Aelita don't even know _that _little detail," Yumi said, lowering her voice slightly to prevent Aelita and Jeremie from hearing.

"Yeah," he said with a slight smile. "They'd flip."

"Knowing Princess, yes, she would. She'd do a triple back-flip in the air, or at least attempt one."

The duo broke out into a slight laughing fit. Calming down slightly, Yumi and Ulrich glanced up ahead, only to see Odd and Sam skating backwards on their boards, talking to each other while having a backwards race. Aelita and Jeremie weren't paying attention the slightest bit, but were rather talking about a potential way to get into the Internet.

"Odd! Watch out!" Ulrich shouted, pointing at the upcoming curb near the restaurant.

Odd, not listening, thinking it was a joke, merely winked at Ulrich, and kept on skating backward. His wheels of the skateboard hit the curb; Odd flew up, and landed on the ground outside of the restaurant. "Ow! That hurt!"

Sam was so elated that she won, that she didn't notice him falling, until she began turning around on her skateboard, doing a complete 360° spin. Landing the wrong way, she toppled over backwards onto the grass next to Odd. The two sat dazed on the ground, slightly dizzy.

Jeremie and Aelita were so deep into their conversation that they didn't know that _they _themselves were in danger of joining the collision. Jeremie spotted the rolling skateboard a second too late, slamming on the back breaks of the scooter. In doing so, he collided with Sam's skateboard, the front wheel got stuck under the board, and he was sent into the air, landing firmly in front of Odd on the grass. "Ow! I think I landed on a rock!" Jeremie said, rubbing the forming bruise.

Aelita shrieked with slight horror as she saw Jeremie go down. Running forward to his aid, Sam outstretched her slightly swollen foot, accidentally kicking her skateboard towards Aelita. "Aelita! Watch out!"

Aelita looked in front of her, as she unintentionally placed her foot carelessly on the skateboard, hence sending it into a 180° spin, forcing her to land on the ground next to Jeremie.

The four sat dazed on the ground, not exactly realizing what had just happened. Ulrich and Yumi buckled at the knees, and almost fell to the ground laughing hysterically at the scene in front of them. Odd attempted to stand up, wobbled slightly, and stepped on his skateboard. The skateboard launched out from his feat directly at Jeremie's head. Jeremie ducked too late to avoid the upcoming skateboard. The skateboard whacked Jeremie in the back of the head, making him hold his head from the pain. Odd was sent backwards, hitting his head on the door handle of the restaurant. The blonde haired boy was knocked out cold, slumping down to the ground unconsciously.


	6. Questions

**Hey everyone! Here's the next chapter, hope you enjoy! Please, please, _please _read and review, I need reviews to make my writing better! **

**Thanks, now on with the fiction!**

Chapter 6 – Questions

Odd awoke sleepily the next morning to the sound of faint beeping around him. He opened one eye, looked to his right, and saw a huge machine with a monitor on top, displaying blood pressure, heart rate, and other too-confusing information for Odd to read. The machine was equipped with a bunch of flashing lights and unmarked buttons. Glancing around the room, he saw one main color theme: white, white, and more white. Too much white for Odd.

As he sat up in bed, he attempted to stretch his arms. He felt a slight tug on his right wrist, and as he stared at his wrist, it clicked to him that he had an IV in his arm.

". . . What the . . . ," he questioned out loud. Laying back into his bed, he glanced at the bedside clock. It was 8:36 in the morning. The door to the white room opened slowly.

"Well, I see your awake, Mr. Della Robbia. Good to see you focusing this early, here is your medication you need," the nurse said, handing Odd a pill and a glass of water. Odd swallowed the pill without questioning, and laid down back in bed, grasping his head. It ached so badly, as if he was hit with a baseball bat. "Some of your friends are here to see you; I'll let them come in to see you now that you're awake." The nurse closed the door behind her. The door soon opened after, and four kids waltzed in.

"Hey buddy! Good to see ya!" Ulrich said, sitting down in one of the chairs near the bed.

"Hey Odd." Yumi said, taking the chair next to Ulrich.

"Hi there pal! How ya feelin' after last night?" Jeremie questioned, leaning on Ulrich's chair. Aelita sat herself down on the back of Yumi's armchair.

"Yeah, how are you feeling, Odd? How's your head?" Aelita inquired.

Odd arose in his bed, wearing a confused look on his face. He raised one eyebrow slightly, took a sip of water, and began speaking. "Where am I? Who are you people? Who . . . Who am I? What happened?"

Ulrich and the rest of the gang paused for a moment, exchanging looks. ". . . Odd . . . ," Ulrich began.

"What's odd?" The blond haired boy interrupted. "Will someone please tell me what my name is? Who am I?"

"Please, listen," Aelita began calmly, placing a hand on the bed. "Your name is Odd Della Robbia."

"Wait, my _name_ is Odd? That _is_ odd. Hey! Odd Odd! I'm odd, meaning strange, and my name is Odd! Ha ha! That fits me perfectly!" Odd said with a chuckle before going on saying repetitively 'Odd Odd! Odd Odd!'

"It's good to see he has the same personality, he's just as hyper and happy as always!" Yumi said with a smile.

"Hey, so, now that I know who I am, odd Odd; who are you? What school do I go to? Where am I and why am I here?" Odd questioned inventively.

"Well, you're in a hospital, because of a concussion." Jeremie began.

"A concussion? Where did I get that from?"

"Yesterday, all of us and Sam, who isn't here right now . . ." Jeremie was interrupted by the fast opening of the hospital room door.

"ODD! ODD! Are you okay!?! You scared the living crap out of me!" Sam said, rushing over to his bed, hugging Odd. Odd backed away, shooting an uncomfortable look at Sam.

"Who . . . are . . . you?" Odd asked slowly.

"Um, Sam, we have a slight problem. Odd lost his memory, so he doesn't remember any of us or what happened or even who _he_ is." Yumi said, as Sam grew most unhappy and worried.

"WHAT? What do you mean he lost his memory? He doesn't remember . . . anything? He doesn't even remember . . . _me_?" Sam questioned, glancing around at the group.

". . . No, Sam, he doesn't remember anything. He's lost in this world, not even knowing who we are. Before you came in, we were explaining his name." Aelita said, as Odd broke out into laughter.

"OH! OH! I know my name! It's Odd! It's Odd Della . . . Della . . . What is my last name?"

"Della Robbia, Odd, Della Robbia." Ulrich said with a hint of humor in his voice.

"Right! I'm Odd Della Robbia! Now, who are you?"

"This is Aelita, we call her the princess," Jeremie said pointing to Aelita.

"I'm Ulrich, and I am your roommate and best friend." Ulrich paused, then continued. "This is Yumi, who doesn't live at the campus of our school, but lives in town." Ulrich grasped Yumi's hand down in-between the two armchairs where Odd wouldn't see just yet.

"I'm Sam, and, well, I don't know how to explain myself to you while you have no memory . . ." Sam said, blushing slightly, knowing that she shouldn't quite yet say that they were going out before the accident.

"Um, and lastly, this is Jeremie. He's the smartest of us, and also runs the Super . . ." Aelita's voice trailed off, remembering that Sam was right there with them. Sam still hadn't found out about the factory, even though Odd had said he was going to tell her later last night, after they went for dinner with the rest of the group.

"Ok. So, you're Aelita, with the pink hair . . . You're Ulrich, formerly my best friend and roommate . . . You're Yumi . . . You're Sam, who doesn't know how to explain yourself . . . and you're Jeremie, right, the smartest one?" Odd said, reciting what everyone had just said.

"Yes, precisely." Jeremie said.

"Now, where do we go to school?"

"Well, _we_ go to school at Kadic Junior High School, just a little ways away from this hospital," Ulrich said, gesturing to the gang.

"What about you, Sam? Where do you go to school?"

"I go to a different school, but come to Kadic for all of their skateboarding competitions and sometimes I DJ dances. That's how you and I met . . ." her voice trailed off.

"Whoa! Kadic has skateboarding competitions! That sounds cool! Do I skateboard?"

"Do you skateboard?! DO YOU SKATEBOARD?! Of course you skateboard; you and I usually are neck-and-neck at first and second place at competitions! You rock, Odd!" Sam said, taking out a picture of the last competition and showing it to Odd.

"Wow! Really! I'm that good! Sweet! Hey, one last question, what happened to cause this concussion?" Odd said, still staring at the picture.

"Oh? You really want to hear, Odd? It can be a long story!" Yumi questioned.

"Yeah! I want to know how I got a concussion!" Odd said, with a slightly sarcastic tone.

"Oh, ok, I'll explain it." Ulrich said. "We were all going out to dinner to a restaurant on our skateboards and scooters. When we got close to the restaurant, you and Sam had a backwards skating contest . . ." Ulrich took about five minutes longer to completely explain how Odd received his concussion.

"Oh. So, I hit my head on a doorknob, which knocked me out cold? That's pathetic." Odd said.

"It may be pathetic, but true. It scared the heck out of us. We had to get the restaurant to call an ambulance, and you were unresponsive. It really freaked us out, Odd. You know how to scare us!" Sam said.

The door of the hospital room opened slightly, as the nurse told the visitors that Odd needed his rest, and that they could come back later after lunch if they wanted to see him again.

The group all said their good-bye's, and then left the hospital.

"I hate those horrible places. Even just being in a hospital freaks me out. I hate hospitals. I hate them, hate them, _hate them!_" Yumi said, shaking her head.

"It's alright, they said that Odd will be out soon, depending on how his progress is with retrieving his memory," Ulrich said, placing his hand around Yumi's waste.

"Good. I don't want to go to that horrid place many more times!"


	7. Odd's Release

Chapter 7 – Odd's Release

"Lunch isn't the same without Odd. He's not stealing your food from under your nose. I miss him," Sam said, picking at her food with her fork.

"Well, if he's made progress, they said he could leave early." Yumi said, trying to comfort Sam.

"I just hope he gets out of the hospital before the skateboarding contest, it's this weekend. I'll have no true competition without him!" Sam said taking the flier out of her pocket.

"Yeah, you would win without a doubt, but if Odd can still be in the competition, you should watch out, he's been practicing real hard to try to win. After all, he was kind of mad that he lost to you by so many points in last month's competition." Jeremie replied. Sam wore a confused look upon her face.

"He got mad, because he lost by _five _style points? It's a lousy five points below me, and he got _mad?_" Sam asked hesitantly.

"Well, yeah. You see, with Odd, if he lost by more than three points, he feels like he's a total loser and sometimes, if it's more than five, he doesn't even want to compete. So, when he lost to you by five points, he was really upset. He went into the dorm room and stared at the flier, muttering to himself 'I didn't win. I can't win. I'm a loser'. It took me a whole week to coax him into competing again." Ulrich said, digging his spoon into his mashed potatoes.

"He shouldn't feel that way, he's a great skateboarder, and he knows it." Sam placed her spoon on her untouched plate, and pushed it further away from her.

"Sam, aren't you hungry? You have to eat something!" Aelita said, slightly concerned.

"No, Aelita, I'm fine. I just can't seem to eat when my full attention is on Odd's recovery. I'm going over to the hospital again. I need to see him, and figure out if he has had any success with his memory." Sam rose, and so did Yumi.

"Well, if Sam's going now, so am I, she shouldn't go into that horrid place alone!" Yumi made a face at the thought of Sam in that horrible place alone.

"I'll go too, Yumi." Ulrich said, throwing out his Styrofoam dish.

"Count us in too, we're done eating!" Aelita said, as her and Jeremie tossed out there plates.

"Ok, let's go," Sam said as the group exited the cafeteria and headed to the outside gate.

Once inside the hospital, Sam ran up to the front desk.

"We need to see Odd Della Robbia! We're his friends! We need to see him! Can we go see him?" she questioned frantically. The rest of the group joined her.

"Calm down, Sam. Relax. He's probably just as he was or better," Aelita said, comfortingly.

"Excuse me, who is it that you wish to visit? Odd Della Robbia?" the nurse at the front desk asked.

"Yes, ma'am, that is correct," Jeremie said.

"Okay, can you just sign your names on this guest list?" The nurse handed Jeremie a clipboard and pen. Jeremie signed his name, handed it to Aelita, and she signed her name. She passed it to Sam, who then passed it to Ulrich and Yumi. "Okay, you're free to go see your friend in room 325, three floors up."

The group headed to the elevator. Sam pushed the button, and the doors opened. The gang all stepped into the elevator, and Aelita pressed the '4th Floor' button. As the elevator doors closed and the elevator began to rise. It was so cramped in the small elevator that there was almost no room to walk at all. Sam was babbling to Aelita about something related to the upcoming situation. Jeremie was deep in thought about how he could get into the Internet to defeat X.A.N.A. Ulrich and Yumi were squashed in a corner, and Ulrich had his arm around Yumi.

_Ding! _The elevator arrived on the fourth floor, and the doors opened. Sam ran out of the elevator and down the hall to room 325, anxious to see if Odd has his memory back.

"Odd! Odd!" Sam flung the door open to room 325.

"Hey . . . Sam, right?" Odd questioned.

"Yes, Odd; how are you?!" Sam glanced outside, and saw Aelita wink at her.

_Thanks, guys, I need some time alone. _

The rest of the group had all agreed to give Sam some time to be alone with Odd, and took their seats in the sitting area.

"Hey, Ulrich, why did you and Yumi hide holding hands before from Odd when we were in the hospital room?" Aelita asked. Yumi blushed slightly.

"Well, Yumi and I had agreed that that may be too much to have him try to grasp and remember at the moment. We just felt that we should wait a little while before having him learn about us, because he'll be a different person for a little while until he regains full memory. As soon as he gets his full memory back, we'll stop being secretive when he's around, this just seems like the best thing to do at the moment, don't you guys agree?" Ulrich glanced at Yumi, and she nodded slightly.

"If this is how you want to keep things, than I won't object. Let's just hope he gets his memory back soon, for all our sakes," Jeremie said, taking out his laptop to work on plans to get into the Internet.

"Yes, I will not object, either. I will respect your wishes," Aelita said. Sam

**Meanwhile, in Odd's hospital room . . .**

"Oh, I'm fine. I still can't remember anything else, just what you and the others have told me. The nurse said they could let me go soon, though. Maybe even tonight, if the principle agrees," Odd said, as Sam's face lit up with joy.

"Odd! That's great news! Oh, I have to go get the rest of the group!" She stuck her head out the door, and waved to the group, signaling to come in now. The group stood up, and walked into the hospital room, curious of why Sam was so happy. Jeremie closed the door behind him, and took his seat on the back of Ulrich's chair.

"Hey, Odd, how is your memory?" Ulrich asked.

"Ah, it's about what it was before, but I have great news! The nurse said I might be able to leave in a little while, possibly even today, if the principle agrees!"

"That's great! Hopefully, you'll be back to your self anytime!" Ulrich exclaimed.

The door to the hospital room opened, and the nurse walked in. "Good news, we just spoke with the principle at your school and the doctor, and agreed that Mr. Della Robbia would be able to leave anytime now. Whenever you feel ready, Mr. Della Robbia, just let me know, and we'll sign you out, and you'll be free to go!"

Odd glanced around the room to all his friends. Sam's face had an ear-to-ear smile. "I think I'm ready to go now, Nurse."

"Ok, if you meet me in the sitting room, we can sign you out." The nurse exited the room and Odd began to make sure he had all his belongings.

"Did I forget anything, guys?" Odd asked as he checked his pockets and the bedside table.

"I don't think so, so let's get out of this place! You know how I hate hospitals!" Yumi said, walking towards the door. The rest of the group followed, and Ulrich placed his arm around Yumi as they walked out of the door. Yumi cleared her throat as a signal, glanced at Ulrich, and nodded her head back towards Odd. Ulrich whispered, "right, I forgot," and removed his hand. Aelita and Jeremie just glanced at each other, and Aelita began shaking her head slightly.

_They won't be able to _not_ show any affection towards each other for long. Odd will probably almost constantly be around until he gets his memory back, and if I know Ulrich and Yumi as well as I _think _I do, then there's no way that they can completely stop all affection towards each other, no way in the world. _Aelita thought, as she walked towards the reception desk in the waiting room.

"Okay . . . sign here on the 'X.'" The nurse handed Odd a clipboard and a pen. He put his signature on the line below the doctor's signature, and then handed it back to the nurse.

"Okay, thanks. Let's go, guys." He led the way to the elevator, and the rest of the group followed. The elevator dinged, the doors opened, and the group entered. This time, with six people in it, it was _very_ cramped.

"I can't stand these cramped elevators. I'm just glad to be almost out of this horrid place." Yumi said, as Ulrich placed his hand around Yumi's waste, making sure that it was hidden from Odd's view.

"Well, the best thing is that Odd is finally out of that hospital! Now he can participate in the skateboarding competition!" Sam pulled the flier out of her pocket, and put it in front of Odd's face. He had to move his head backward slightly to be able to focus on the words.

"Hey, yeah! That would be great! Could we practice sometime, Sam? I can't remember any of the tricks, but I'm sure you'd be a great teacher!"

The elevator door made a ding noise, and opened. The group walked to the door of the hospital, and Yumi sighed in relief.

"Finally, we're out of that _place_." She glanced back at the hospital, and shuttered. "I -"

"_Hate hospitals,"_ the rest of the group chorused together.

"Well I do!" The group laughed.

"Well, Yumi, you won't have to go into another one for a while, hopefully," Ulrich said, looking into Yumi's eyes. He desperately wanted to kiss her, but dared not to, in fear that Odd would see. They still didn't want him to know about their relationship.


	8. The New Odd

**Okay, people! Here's Chapter 8! Hope you enjoy! Chapter 9 should be up within a week or so. **

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Code: Lyoko, (and if I did, William would be dead already in the show!). **

**Also, I do realize that Odd is sooo out of character here, and that's what I wanted. If you are slightly confused about why he's so different and how it will portray in the story, you'll soon find out! **

**Read and review, FLAMES ACCEPTED NOW!!! (I realized that I can't improve if I get just positive reviews!!!)**

Chapter 8 – The New Odd

Ulrich and Odd were both in deep sleeps. It was almost 6:00 in the morning. Silence was all around, except for a few birds chirping outside the window. Suddenly, the sound of an alarm clock broke the silence. A random tune sang out from the alarm clock speakers.

Odd, surprisingly, almost literally jumped out of bed. Ulrich sat up groggily, and rubbed his eyes. Odd began making his bed, and straightening out his pillows.

"Odd...?" Ulrich asked, yawning after.

"Hey buddy! Ready for another day? This is the first normal day I'll experience since I lost my memory!" Odd said, strangely happy.

"Are . . . are . . . are you actually_ excited_ for the day?! Today's nothing special!" Ulrich questioned, standing up.

"Yeah! I can't wait for just a normal day! My life has been chaotic soooooo much lately!" Odd went to the dresser and stepped back in awe. "Man, this is so messy!" He began organizing the disaster that was his dresser. Ulrich blinked in shock.

"Odd? Are you actually _cleaning_?" Odd folded a pair of pants and placed them neatly in one of the drawers.

"Yeah! This dresser is so messy! I need to do some _serious _re-organizing later."

_Odd? Using the words "need to" and "serious re-organization" in the same sentence? Not normal! _Ulrich thought, shaking his head, and walked to his own dresser. He pulled out his Kadic sweatshirt, a brown shirt, jeans, and got dressed. Odd folded three other pairs of pants, and five shirts, before getting dressed himself.

Odd took one last look at his side of the room, and then shook his head.

"What, Odd? What's wrong?" Ulrich questioned, as he joined Odd in staring at his side of the room.

"I was such a messy person! Look, I mean, I've got shoes thrown under my bed, clothes spewing out of the drawers in the dresser, and papers everywhere! How could I live in such a pig sty?"

Ulrich shook his head with disbelief. He whished he just got what Odd said either on camera or on a tape recorder, because he guaranteed that if Odd ever got his memory back, that he would _never _hear those words again.

"Oh, Odd. This room has seen messier days." Ulrich glanced at Odd, and they both started laughing. The duo walked out of the dorm, and headed towards Jeremie's dorm before breakfast.

Breakfast was quite the opposite of what it usually is. Sissi, Herve, and Nicholas were not attending breakfast, for unknown reasons. Rumors had it that Sissi was furious that Odd was let out of the hospital so early. She apparently was begging her father to send Odd back to the hospital.

In the end of the line, he took his tray, and waited patiently for the line to start moving. Once he got to where Rosa was serving the food, he handed Rosa his tray. Rosa, thinking that Odd was going to be his usual self with his usual appetite, gave him five _large _pancakes. Odd raised one eyebrow in confusion.

"Why so many? Everyone else got three; I would feel bad taking more!" Rosa stepped back in confusion. "Plus, I'm not _that _hungry!" he added.

"What is up with you this morning, Odd? Usually you're asking for about seven pancakes!" Rosa glanced at Ulrich and the group.

"_Seven!_ _Seven pancakes?!_" Odd couldn't believe what he just heard. "How can anyone eat that much?"

"You did!" the group chorused together.

Odd paused, and looked at all the food on his plate. He looked up at Rosa, who was still dumbfounded by Odd's lack in appetite. "Um, Mrs. Lunch-lady?"

"Rosa, call me Rosa, Odd."

"Okay, Rosa. I don't need all this food, I think I'll have two pancakes and a scoop of scrambled eggs, please." He gestured to the food.

"Okay," she replied, taking off five of the pancakes and plopping on a scoop of scrambled eggs. Odd smiled, and paid for his food, waiting for the others. The rest of the gang got their food, paid, and everyone walked to the table.

"I still can't believe I ate so much food!" Odd said, looking at his food and everyone else's.

"Odd, you wouldn't eat just your food, either!" Sam said with a chuckle.

"What? What do you mean, Sam?"

"You would be like a vulture and take three-quarters of everyone else's food, and eat it all. Then, you would sneak food back into the dorm to snack on later!"

Odd sat dumbfounded next to Sam. He stared into her eyes, unable to grasp what he wanted to say. He finally figured out what exactly he wanted to say, "I . . . I would _take _food away from your plate? Really? You've got to be kidding me! It's so rude!"

The group sat shocked. Hearing Odd use the word 'rude' in that context of the sentence was unheard of.

"Yeah, you would take our food. It wasn't so rude; we all got so used to it. Personally, I thought it was really cute." She smiled, and Odd blushed a deep pink color.

"Wow, I was such a pig!" Odd took one of his napkins, and placed it on his lap. The group sat in silence. Odd doused his pancakes with sticky syrup, and took a bite. Realizing that he had a little bit of syrup on his mouth, he took his other napkin and wiped it off of his mouth. The group almost dropped their forks because they were so shocked.

Realizing that the group was staring at Odd while in mid-bite, he put down his fork. "Wha . . . What's wrong, guys? Do I have more syrup on my face?" He grabbed his napkin and began wiping all around his mouth. Sam reached her hand up, and pulled his hand down onto the table.

"No, we just never see you use a napkin before! Not with a meal, anyway!" Ulrich said.

"Yeah, you would just lick the syrup away!" Sam said, as Odd sat silently.

"I would? That's so uncivilized!" Jeremie almost fell of his chair upon hearing Odd use such a big word. "What?" The group erupted with laughter.

"You're so different now! You're almost not Odd!" Sam said.

**Okay, so there it is! Read and review, please! I really want at least three or four reviews before I post the other chapters, as I cannot improve without reviews! Thanks again for reading, everyone!!!**


	9. Discoveries

**Hey guys! Sorry it took me FOREVER to update again! I have been swarmed with school work! (I know, lousy excuse, but true!) **

**Well, anyway, here's chapter nine, what I think all my faithful readers were hoping for! Hope you enjoy, and please review!**

Chapter 9 – Discoveries

Yumi and Ulrich were trying so hard to try to keep their relationship a secret from Odd for as long as possible. It was unbearable hard, though. Ulrich desperately wanted to be able to act as he felt around Yumi, and Yumi felt the same way about being around Ulrich. But, they stuck to their agreement, and decided that until Odd got his memory back, they would act as just friends around him.

Odd had gone out to explore more about Kadic campus, which left Ulrich alone in his dorm for an estimated time of two hours before Odd would return. He lied on his bed, and stared at the ceiling for a moment. He then reached into his pocket, pulled out his cell phone, and dialed Yumi's number.

**Ishiyama Household:**

Yumi sat on her bed, silently reading a novel. Moments later, her phone began emitting a Japanese style ring tone on her nightstand. Slightly startled, she placed her book facedown, and looked at the Caller ID.

Realizing it was Ulrich, she picked it up cheerfully. "Hey, Ulrich."

"Hey Yumi. Listen, Odd went out exploring more about the campus, so he should be gone for about two hours, I'm guessing. So, I was wondering . . . Since we haven't really been able to be together around Odd – which is almost _all day long _– do you want to come over to my dorm and hang out for a while before our blonde friend comes back?"

Yumi paused, smiling to herself. "Why'd ya ask? You _know_ I can't _EVER_ pass up a chance to see you! I'll be there in like ten minutes. Bye, Ulrich!"

"See you, Yumi."

Yumi hung up her phone, and stuffed it in her pocket. She raced down the stairs, told her mom that she was going to hang with the group, and left. She fast-walked down the street, wearing a smile from ear to ear.

She stopped, unlatched the Kadic gate, and then walked onto the grass. Kids were out, practicing soccer, chatting with friends, and chasing each other. Yumi smiled, and continued walking to the dorm building. She couldn't wait. Her heart raced with the thought of being with Ulrich again, and being able to show how she really feels. Having a friend who lost their memory isn't good, especially when you promise that you will keep you relationship with his best friend as low-profile as possible.

She jogged up the stairs hurriedly to Ulrich's room. She knocked twice, before the door opened. The chocolate haired boy stood at the door, smiling. "Yumi, what a _surprise_ to see you!" he said sarcastically.

"Well, I _was_ in the neighborhood, so I_ figured_ I'd stop by." Her mouth formed a smile from ear to ear, continuing the sarcasm. Ulrich motioned for her to come in, and she curtsied dramatically. She stepped in, and he closed the door behind her. Yumi stood in the middle of the floor when Ulrich spun around, gazing at her.

_My God, she looks beautiful. She always has,_ he thought. _I'm glad to be able to call her mine, even when that doesn't apply in the current situation with the memory loss of our dear best friend, Odd. _

Ulrich walked closer to Yumi, put one hand on her arm, and another on her waist. He pulled her gently closer to him, and their lips met. She deepened the kiss, placing one hand on his head. She loved the feeling of his clean hair through her fingers.

"I love you, Yumi," he whispered into her ear, breathing in the scent of her shampoo. Cherry-raspberry, her favorite, and also his. He loved how her hair smelt, so fruity.

Yumi smiled, placing a light kiss on his lips. "I love you too, Ulrich. With all my heart." He wrapped his arms around her, and embraced her in a tight hug. Yumi placed her hands around Ulrich, and he moved his to her hips. He gazed into her dreamy, optimistic eyes. He knew that he could see that she was very happy that they were finally able to be together again, without having to hide their feelings.

"Ulrich?" she questioned.

"Yes, Yumi?" He placed another light kiss on her lips. She loved how his lips felt on hers, soft, delicate, tender, and perfect. Perfect, perfect, _perfect. _He sat down his bed, and patted the bed next to her, motioning for her to sit. She listened, and sat down next to him, placing her hair behind her ear.

"I really missed not being able to express myself around you the past few days, ever since Odd lost his memory. Ever since we promised to keep our relationship a secret from him until he gets his memory back. I really missed it, I missed _you_."

"Yumi, I've missed you a lot. More than you can believe. I've had so many wacky dreams about you lately, about Odd never getting his memory back, about him never finding out, about us not sharing how we truly feel. Dreams where we've ended up alone at the end, because we kept our promise, dreams where we've fallen out of love, and dating other people."

"Ulrich, I'll never stop caring about you, I love you. Odd will regain his memory, and, somewhat unfortunately, become himself again. He'll go back to the same food-lovin', joke-lovin' prankster that he was before the accident. He'll remember our relationship, and we won't have to hide it anymore. Don't worry about the dreams, their just screwing with you head. The one thing that you need to _promise _me is to keep this promise, and don't let it interfere with our relationship. Remember, I love you."

"I will. I promise. I love you too, Yumes. He placed his right hand on her head again, and pulled her up onto his lap. She sat as if she was on a chair, and he leaned in to kiss her. She wrapped her arms around his waste, and he deepened the kiss.

A few moments later, Yumi broke off the kiss, breathing deeply, due to lack of oxygen. She smiled, and Ulrich looked slightly confused, staring at her with a puzzled face. He frowned slightly, taking offense to the fact that Yumi had broken off the kiss.

"Lack of oxygen," she said, laughing. He smiled slightly. "A body – oxygen NO SURVIVAL!" she said, as if reading a science equation.

"Science was not one of my stronger points!" he said, sarcastically.

Yumi moved closer to Ulrich on the bed, practically on his lap. A brilliant idea popped into her head. "Ulrich, since Odd won't be back for a while, want to go catch a movie or something? I think there are some good movies out in the theater downtown!"

"Great idea, Yumi." He smiled, stood up, and opened the door, gesturing for her to go out first. She curtsied humorously, and walked out, taking his hand in hers. Ulrich locked the door, and they pondered what movie to see when they walked out of Kadic campus.

"I think 'Pirates of the Caribbean 2' is playing again, we could see that, or we could see what other movies are playing when we get there." Yumi stated.

"Okay, let's see what is playing when we get there."

The rest of the walk to the movie theater was quiet for the most part. Yumi and Ulrich talked about how much they desperately wanted to have Odd get his memory back, for two reasons.

One, they missed their old prankster friend as his true self, and two, they were starting to get annoyed at the fact that they had to hide their feelings around Odd. They just had a feeling that he wouldn't take it the right way.

Yumi and Ulrich gazed at the list of movies playing posted on the wall of the theater. "Hmm," Yumi said with a sigh. _Pirates of the Caribbean 2_ is playing again, we could see that, or . . ." She stared at the list for a few more seconds.

"Or we could see something like _Click_, or _Spider Man 3_, I see that came out recently." Yumi pondered these choices for a moment.

"Hmm, _Spider Man 3 _is supposed to be a good movie, how about we watch that?"

"Okay, let's watch that," he said, walking over to the ticket booth. "Two tickets for _Spider Man 3_, please." Ulrich said to the worker behind the glass.

The worker typed something into her computer, and the printed out the tickets on command. "Okay, that will be $7.50 total for the matinee tickets." Yumi began to remove four ones from her pocket, and Ulrich pushed her hand down gently as she raised it to put her money on the stand. Ulrich pulled a crisp, new ten-dollar bill out of his wallet, smiled at Yumi, and slid through the slot at the stand.

"I'll pay, Yumi," he whispered. The worker slid the two tickets through the slot in return for the money. Ulrich said a quick "thanks" before him and Yumi proceeded through the big glass doors into the main room of the movie theater. It was very large. There was a large food-service area in the middle, emitting the many aromas of a theater. Yumi breathed in deeply, taking in the smell of freshly buttered popcorn, many types of candy, the faint smell of soda, and extra-cheesy nachos. There were various posters on the walls and ceiling about the upcoming movies. In one corner, there were tons of kids gathered around countless video games, anywhere from older Pac Man style games, to motorcycle chase games, to even a "Duo DDR Session" area laid out.

Ulrich grasped Yumi's hand, and led her gently over to the food-service area. Looking at the menu for a moment, he then began to order. "One medium, extra buttered popcorn, and two medium sodas, one Sprite, and . . ." He turned to Yumi, "and what type of soda do you want, Yumi?"

Pondering the soda choice, she answered quietly, "Hmm, I'll have a Sprite too, please." The worker behind the counter nodded, and went to go make the drinks. Soon after, another worker placed the medium popcorn on the counter, and the drinks were handed to Ulrich and Yumi.

"Anything else?" the worker asked. Ulrich and Yumi peered through the transparent glass for a moment, looking at all the different types of candy.

"Yeah, one M&M bag, a Snickers bar, and . . . a SourPatch Kids bag, and a Three Musketeers bar, right Yumi?"

"Yep, that's it." Ulrich's grip tightened slightly on her hand. He knew that Yumi loved SourPatch kids, so he decided to order them for her, even though lately she's been trying to stay away from them from the amount of sugar.

The worker behind the counter opened up the sliding door under the counter, and removed the candy, placing them on the counter. Plugging a few numbers into the computer, he calculated the total price. "That will be $12.50 total, please." Yumi attempted to hand a five dollar bill and a one to the cashier, but Ulrich beat her to it, handing the cashier the appropriate amount of money. He smiled, and she just shoved a few pieces of popcorn in his face, as they headed off towards the theater.

Taking their seats, the movie's previews began. After what seemed like endless minutes, the previews ended with one of a creepy leprechaun trying to sell cars to you, and _Spider Man 3_ began.

Ulrich and Yumi tossed their trash into the container at the end of the long hallway, and exited the theater. The movie was great, although Yumi wasn't very impressed with the ending.

Turning down the sidewalk, Ulrich placed his hand around Yumi's waste, and they continued talking about how much they can't stand having to hide their feelings. Looking at their watches, they realized that they had only a short time before they expected Odd to be back at the dorm, so they decided to take the short way through the park.

**Meanwhile . . . **

Odd was so engulfed in exploring, that he decided to explore the park a little more. He hadn't really been in the park since the accident, so he was curious. He wandered in and out of pathways, trees, and rock clusters. What he didn't know, was he was right about to discover something unintentionally.

Ulrich and Yumi walked along the cobblestone path, Ulrich turned Yumi to face him. He stared into her eyes, as she stared deeply into his chocolate brown eyes. He smiled, and moved away a stray strand of hair out of her face. He gave in to his temptations, thinking that they were alone together and kissed Yumi gently. She took the pleasure into deepening the kiss, just as Odd rounded the corner.

Slightly amazed and confused, he stopped dead in his tracks. Sensing that he shouldn't see what he just did, he turned and ran back to the dorm. Ulrich and Yumi broke off the kiss, hearing the leaves rustle not too far away, a clue that someone was there, or had been. Fearing the truth that it was Odd, and then took off in curiosity to figure out if it was him.

_Oh shoot. No, not now. Please tell me that wasn't our blonde haired friend. Please. _

**Well, there you go! Chapter ten is currently in progress, but I can't guarantee that I'll have it up in a jiffy, but I'll try my hardest! **

**Also, **_**PLEASE, PLEASE**_** review! **

**Next chapter might pose as a problem for Ulrich and Yumi, and that's as much of a hint as I'll give! **

**And, noticing how much grammar/spelling issues I had on this chapter the other day, this is a new fresh edited copy of this chap. I had some serious issues with my computer for this chapter that I didn't notice!!!**


	10. Listening In

**Ok, well, here's chapter ten, hope everyone enjoys. Oh, also, this is a short chapter, but an important one into the upcoming events. Please, review! **

Chapter 10 – Listening In

Odd was laying on his bed, tossing a bright orange bouncy ball in the air, with a very puzzled expression. Odd was very confused, he wasn't sure whether he should be happy, mad, angry, alarmed, alarmed, or what. He was also not sure why Ulrich and Yumi would keep this from him, or how long they had been together.

Betrayal. That word seemed to stay in his pointy little blond head. _Betrayal. _

He wasn't sure exactly why he should feel betrayal, he just did. He was starting to compile all his feelings, when two sharp, quick knocks broke the silence. Odd sighed, predicting it was Ulrich. "Come in, whoever it is," he said, as if he couldn't care less.

With his predictions being right, a brown haired-chocolate eyed thirteen-year-old stepped in the doorway, holding out one finger in the hall, as a "wait, don't follow yet" signal to his pin-straight black haired friend outside.

Taking the signal, Yumi waited in the hall, and leaned against one of the walls. Ulrich walked farther into the dorm, closing the door behind him. Sitting himself on the bed, he smiled slightly. Odd acted as if he didn't see, and continued tossing the ball in the air.

Odd, slightly annoyed by the silence, finally spoke. "How long?" he questioned.

Ulrich turned up one corner of his mouth, confused. "How long for what?"

"That you and Yumi's been going out." Ulrich shifted uncomfortably on his bed. Yumi moved closer to the door in the hall, pressing her ear against the wall, trying to hear.

"Hmm . . . about a month now?" His words were soft, quiet, and awkward.

"Oh." That was it, one small syllable in one, small word. A silence hung around the room, pestering the occupants. Yumi ventured closer to the door, placing her ear on the cold wood. She was slightly curious about the silence.

As if a year passed, Odd got annoyed once again of the silence. "Are you happy?"

"Happy about what? Just in general, with Yumi, or with you seeing us?"

"Number two, and three."

"Yes, I am happy with Yumi, but I'm sorry about you seeing us . . ."

"What I don't understand is you and her," he began. Ulrich rolled his eyes slightly, fearing what he expected to come up next. Yumi shifted outside the door, and switched listening ears. "I mean, you're a soccer star, – like the best in our grade – and she's like, a Goth. I just don't see how you are going out. A soccer star and a Goth, it's not a good match, buddy. Not a good match at all."

"Odd, for one, Yumi's not a Goth, she just likes black. It's part of her heritage. Two, Yumi and I care about each other, we really do. If you were really my buddy, you'd accept that." Yumi bit her lip slightly, afraid herself with where this was going.

"Ulrich, seriously. A superstar soccer player like you deserves someone . . . I don't know, _better_. Like that Sissi girl, she seems nice. Yumi . . . she's just not your type. Plus, I saw that black haired kid in her grade staring at her the other day. He wouldn't take his eyes off of her, and I say he'd be a better fit for her; he seems to like what she likes."

The two voices got quieter during the silence. Yumi no longer could hear what they were saying very well. Once in a while, she could pick up a word or two, but not enough to form logical sentences.

Ulrich came to Yumi's defense, not knowing what she could be thinking, even if she couldn't hear. "William is not her type, she hates him. You know what, why do you even care? Me and Yumi are happy, that's what matters, don't even think about messing us up. The real Odd wouldn't do that, he's happy for me and Yumi, and I hope that the new Odd can accept that too." Ulrich was furious. Odd, frankly, was slightly scared.

"I – I – all I'm saying is that William has his eyes glued on Yumi non-stop when she's around, and that he seems to be tough competition. He seems to like the same things that Yumi does, take for example, her favorite color. Black. She wears black every day, so does he. Also, think about age wise. How many boys really go out with older girls? It's usually the other way around, if anything. Think about it, Ulrich, you're a whole grade below her, a whole year. She's in ninth grade, you're in eighth. William is in her grade, likes the same things as her, and never stops looking at her. He's a better match for Yumi, Ulrich. If you could see that, it would really make your life better."

Ulrich felt anger, hatred, and sorrow fill up in his veins. His head raced with questions.

_What if Odd is right? What if Yumi and I really aren't made for each other? What if William is a better match for Yumi? No, no, Ulrich. Calm down. Think about it, Odd really isn't himself, he's just overwhelmed right now. Yumi and I are really happy together, we care about each other. Don't let Odd's thoughts get to me, I can't. It would ruin me and Yumi both, not to mention confuse the others severely. _

As if not already bad, Odd commented once more. "Buddy, she's better off with William, not you. Too many differences, it'll never work between you two."

This pushed Ulrich over the edge. As if he was standing on top of a mountain of emotions, he cracked, falling down. "No! I won't let you break us apart, Odd!"

With that said, he began stomping to the door. Upon hearing the loud footsteps approaching, Yumi moved her ear away from the door, and pressed herself against the wall to avoid the opening door. Ulrich stepped out, red faced with anger. He turned to Yumi, slammed the door, and took her hand, leading her away from the dorm door.

"Where are we going?" she questioned, as Ulrich lead her down the stairs.

"Anywhere but here. How about the park? We never spent that much time in the park earlier, and I need a place to cool down. That sound okay?" he questioned, opening the door to the outside world, holding it so that Yumi could exit.

"Okay, it sounds wonderful. What happened in there, anyway Ulrich?" she questioned, avoiding his eyes, unsure why though.

"Ah, Odd was really upset, and he said all of this crap that didn't make sense at all. He tried to get me on his side, and away from you." Ulrich said, as they crossed the soccer field.

"I hope he gets his memory back soon, otherwise he might try to break us up." Yumi's grip tightened on Ulrich's hand.

"He can try, but he won't succeed. I won't let him; I care too much about you."

"Me too, Ulrich. He can try as hard as possible, but he won't succeed."

_God, I hope not. Odd does have a tendency to be persuasive, though. _Ulrich thought as he led Yumi over to a stone bench near the pond.

**Ok, so there it was, short, but still there. Please review with your thoughts! **


	11. A Sinister Plan Starts To Develop

**Finally here is the next chapter! Thanks for all you readers who stuck with me through the months that I didn't update, it means a lot to me!!!**

Chapter 11 – A Sinister Plan Starts To Develop

_I'll show him. He will find out sooner or later that Yumi isn't right for him. He'll see soon enough, they all will. _

The blond haired boy reached for his cell phone, and took a paper out of his pocket. Dialing the number, he waited for it to start ringing on the other end.

"Hello?" a cold voice said.

"William? It's Odd."

Ulrich and Yumi were watching the ducks eat near the pond when some friends stopped by.

A pink haired girl had her arm wrapped around a blond haired guy with his glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. A girl of medium height and dark hair was on the right of the pink haired girl.

"Hey Aelita, Sam, Jeremie," Yumi said, waving at the group.

"Hey guys," Ulrich said.

"Where's Odd? Anyone know?" Sam questioned.

"Yeah him and I just had a nice fight in our dorm, last time I knew, he was there," Ulrich said, looking at Yumi, who frowned sligthly. She hates to see friends fight.

Although, this time, she saw a reason to fight.

"You and Odd had a fight? What about?" Sam questioned.

"He tried to tell me that I shouldn't go out with Yumi."

"Ooh, harsh, that's not like Odd," Aelita commented.

"But it's not the Odd we know, it's a different Odd, an odd Odd," Yumi added, resting her head on Ulrich's shoulder.

"And he also said that he thinks I should break up with Yumi, let William date her, and I myself should go out with . . . with . . ."

"Who?!?" Sam asked anxiously. Yumi took her head off of Ulrich's shoulder, and felt his hand slide around her waist.

"Sissi," Yumi said, looking at the dramatic expression on Ulrich's face that said something like _It pains me to say the name!_

Who knew that he could be so good at acting dramatically?

"He didn't!" Sam commented. Jeremie's mouth hung open after the bratty principal's daughter's name was mentioned.

"Oh but he did!" Yumi said.

Aelita gasped dramatically. "Say it isn't so!?!"

"Oh it is so!" Yumi said.

The three girls looked at each other and burst out laughing. Ulrich shook his head, and then looked at the girls who were still laughing.

_They really can be crazy at times, _he thought. _But, there still my friends._

"Ahh, yeah, but it really isn't that funny," Yumi said.

The girls, once again, started laughing. "Well, it's sorta funny."

"Yup."

Jeremie sat down on the other end of the bench, as Sam and Aelita were happy standing. He typed along on his laptop, of course, he brings it _everywhere. _

"It's seriously a problem though, guys," Ulrich said, honestly concerned.

"What do you mean? I mean, Odd wouldn't go trying to break you two apart or anything," Sam said, motioning to the couple on the bench.

"Well, our friend Odd the Jokester wouldn't, but the New Odd might, and that's what I'm afraid he'll try to do."

"What did he exactly say that makes you think that?" Aelita sounded like a teacher giving an exam question.

"He said that William was a better match for Yumi, because he likes the color black and so does she, and he's in the same grade, and all this other crap that was totally crazy."

"Ugh. Horrible, horrible, _horrible_. You and William? Eck. It makes me want to whack Odd with a skateboard. But I can't, that hurts, trust me." Aelita and Yumi chuckled at Sam's comment.

"Yeah, and worst of all, he thinks I should date _her_." Ulrich shuddered at the thought of Sissi's name.

"Eck, even worse."

"Yeah and when I say it I want to rinse my mouth out with soap."

"Eww, don't do that, then Yumi has to taste hints of soap when you two kiss," Sam said, smiling as she watched Yumi blush a shade of rose, and Ulrich turn slightly pink.

"Uh . . . well . . ." Ulrich stammered.

"It's true!" Sam said.

"Yeah, and I don't like the taste of soap," Yumi added, looking at Ulrich.

Ulrich smiled and helped Yumi onto his lap and into a tight hug, as she smiled back. He placed a gentle tender kiss on her delicate lips, as Yumi's tongue begged for more. Ulrich smirked slightly, and deepened the kiss to a more passionate level as an answer. Yumi could feel Ulrich's hand playing with her soft hair as she answered by running her fingers in his chocolate hair.

Jeremie, who had been typing away at his computer, looked up at the couple who were getting very passionate. Startled, he froze, staring awkwardly at his friends at the end of the bench.

"Umm, I think we should leave you two alone now," Sam said, tugging on Aelita's sleeve slightly. Aelita nodded, and turned around to walk in the other direction. Noticing that Jeremie was still in a frozen state, Aelita walked over to him and pulled the back of his shirt neck to get his attention.

"Jer, let's leave them alone now, c'mon," Aelita told him as the blond boy stood up, placing his laptop in his backpack. Aelita and Sam had already strolled ahead of Jeremie, who was lagging behind, still startled at what he saw.

"Oh my God were they . . . _frenching?_" Aelita asked Sam as they walked away.

"Yeah, definitely," Sam relied.

"Odd? Odd Della-Robbia?" William's chilling voice spoke into the cell phone.

"Yes. You _hate _Ulrich dating Yumi, am I correct?" Odd questioned William, who was confused.

"Yes, I can't stand to see them together. Why?"

"I can't stand to see them together as well."

"What do you mean?" William asked in suspicion.

"I told you, I can't stand to see Ulrich dating Yumi. They're not meant to be together, it's just wrong."

"I agree."

"Would you be willing to help me break them apart?" Odd questioned evilly.

"Heck yes! I've been planning something since they first started dating but didn't come up with a plan good enough to work."

"Want to put our ideas together?" Odd said, smirking devilishly.

"Sure, meet me at my dorm now, if you can."

"Of course. See ya in a second." Odd hung up his cell phone and locked his dorm door, closing it behind him. He headed down the boy's floor corridor a little before coming to William's dorm. He was about to knock, as William opened the door.

"Hey William," Odd said as if they were friends. Who knows, they might be friends later.

"Let's start plotting our evil genius plan." Odd stepped into the dorm and took a seat at the desk, where there were papers strewn about with numerous plans sketched about them.

"What have you got for ideas?" Odd questioned, looking at the designs.

"Not much that seems to be a good plan," William said, gesturing to the various cross-outs and revisions on the papers.

"Well, I think that if we frame Ulrich for doing something he didn't do, if it was planned just right, then we should be able to get Yumi mad enough that she'll dump him fast."

"I like how you think, Odd. What do you have in mind?"

"Well, I think our key weapon here is Sissi."

"I know where you're going with this, and I like it."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeremie, Aelita, and Sam walked back to Aelita and Sam's dorm, where Aelita and Sam talked about what they had seen in the park. Jeremie, still startled, merely sat at the computer and typed at an abnormally slow speed, and with one finger more or less. Who knows when his mind will be normal again, that seemed to scare him to some extent.

"Oh my God did you see them???" Sam said to Aelita.

"Yeah! Can you believe it?"

"Yes! Did you see them? It was so cute!"

"I know; it made me stare in awe!"

"And it made Jeremie stare with disbelief!"

"What about me?" Jeremie suddenly interjected.

"Nothing, we were just saying how you were frozen in the park," Aelita reassured him.

"Oh, yeah, I was _not_ all there at that time. I plan on _not _seeing _that_ again soon, even if it means ignoring them."

"You might have to, I don't see them letting up at all for a while, if ever," Sam said.

"Oh, okay, yeah, way too much here, I am _leaving _this conversation now! This is _not _what I want to spend my time doing, talking about Ulrich and Yumi and their relationship. I have bigger things to deal with!"

"Okay, Jer. Bye!" Aelita said, turning back to Sam. The two girls were deep into conversation within seconds.

**Okay, there's the next chapter. I know, I know, it was short, not much happened in it, but the whole William and Odd planning thing is important for the next few chapters. Sorry again to all you readers who I kept waiting since what, months ago? I was sooooo unexpectedly buisy towards the end of summer, and then school started. I mean, three days into school I had a test. Loads of homework prevented me from working on this. **

**But, here it is, short, but important. **

**Review please, the more reviews I get, the more it will make me want to write! So, more reviews means a faster update!!! **

**And for all you who were getting frusterated with me because I wasn't updating, I promise that the next update won't take as long as this one did. I have the whole plot planned in my head. **

**Review! Review! Review!**


	12. Carthage's God

**Hey everyone!!! Sorry I haven't updated in ... months. I've been short on time and had major writers block. This isn't the best update I've done, but it's what I've got. Review, and tell me what you thought. **

**-LS1114**

Chapter 12 – Carthage's God

Jeremie was typing rapidly on his laptop while Aelita worked on her computer, also typing magnificently fast. They had to find a way into the Internet soon, otherwise XANA could attack and they would fall to the mercy of an evil computer virus.

Hmm, imagine a world run by a super psychopathic power-hungry maniacal computer virus!!!

Yeah, you'd be typing away as fast as possible too, decoding things, re-entering data, and re-organizing the information stored in the massive data banks of the supercomputer, too.

"Anything useful yet, Aelita?" Jeremie asked, glancing at Aelita.

"Not much, I have only decoded fifteen out of seventy-five codes needed to get another piece of the internet passage unlocked," Aelita replied with a sigh.

See, Jeremie discovered a passage into the Internet, but it's blocked by thirty virtual walls, that each have anywhere from fifty to one-hundred codes to crack.

After working for five hours, Jeremie and Aelita have been able to unlock twenty-three virtual walls.

"Yes! I de-coded another set of codes! That's twenty-four walls down, six more to go!" Jeremie shouted, a little louder than he should of, since someone in the next dorm room over shouted at them for the noise.

"And I've cracked about half of the codes for this wall before it's destroyed!" Aelita announced.

"Okay, so here's the plan," William said, pointing to the paper in front of him and Odd with a highly devious plan scribbled among it. "We'll need a love note from Ulrich to Sissi, written in what looks like his handwriting. Got any ideas? I'm not much of a handwriting forger, I can barely write in my _own_ handwriting, let alone try to copy _his _handwriting."

Odd's mouth twisted into a devilish smirk. "I think I know what we could use, Ulrich has a stash of hidden love letters to Yumi, we could choose one, get a really good eraser, and write Sissi's name on it instead," he suggested.

"Eh, it could work, but it's got its flaws. What if he has only ones referring to the specifics of what he likes about her? He could have said he likes her black hair, which won't fit Sissi, he could say that he likes how she dresses, which _certainly _doesn't fit Sissi at all. We'll have to raid his stash of love notes and go through them all."

"All of them? He has about a million!"

"Hey, you want them broken up, right?"

"Well, yeah, I do," Odd replied. "They're too different."

"Yeah, and if we want them to be broken up, and fast, it'll take some effort, Odd," William said, gesturing to the plans atop the desk. "That's something I've learned in my many failed attempts to end their relationship, and before that, even their friendship. But somehow, someway, they end up becoming closer and closer, even though I seek to pull them apart."

Odd's old curiosity started coming back, or it never disappeared, one or the other. "How many times have you tried to end their relationship?"

"Their relationship, seven; but I've tried to end their friendship, oh, say, a hundred or so times since middle school. All have failed, of course."

"Well then," Odd added, "let's try not to let this plan fail."

Later that night, Ulrich and Yumi were curled up on the couch watching a movie at her house. Her parents were away at a friend's party all night long, and Hiroki was staying at a friend's house that night, so they had the entire house to themselves until morning.

Having stayed up late last night fighting Xana, Yumi was over-tired, having trouble keeping her eyes open while watching the movie.

One minute, Ulrich and Yumi would be laughing at the movie, or in conversation, and then the next minute, Yumi would be falling asleep in Ulrich's arms.

Sometime around eleven o'clock, Yumi and Ulrich both fell asleep before the end of the movie, in each other's arms.

It was somewhere around three in the morning when Ulrich awoke, starting to loose the feeling in his foot that had been caught by Yumi's sometime in the night. "Yumi," he whispered, trying not to startle her. "Yumi," he repeated again.

"Mmm?" she muttered, waking up and rubbing her eyes. She looked at Ulrich who patted her on the shoulder.

"C'mon, Yumi, let's get you up to your bed, you'll never get a good's night sleep here," he told her, as she sleepily stood up and slowly headed to the stairs. Once in her room, she collapsed from sleeplessness on the unturned bed sheets. Ulrich merely chuckled, and lifted her head, pulling down the sheets, and then lifted up her feet, sliding the sheets out from under her. He carefully placed her feet under the covers, and pulled the black blanket around her, tucking her in as if she were a little child.

"Goodnight," he whispered softly in her ear, kissing her forehead. Glancing one last time at the clock, the numbers revealed that it was three-fifteen. He had to get back to the dorms, for two major reasons. One, Jim usually does periodic check-ups in the early weekend morning to see who's in their dorms and who's not, and because Yumi's parents were going to be getting home sometime that morning as well, and he didn't know exactly when. He could just picture the reaction that Mr. Ishiyama would have if he found Ulrich in his house this late and he would like to avoid that by whatever means necessary.

Ulrich quietly walked down the stairs, knowing that Yumi's stairs squeaked a lot, not wanting to wake her up, slipped on his shoes at the front door, and headed out.

Odd was searching through a six-inch high pile of love letters never sent when he heard someone turn the dorm room handle. He shoved as many as he could back in the shoebox, attempting to then shove all of the shoeboxes back under Ulrich's bed when Ulrich walked in unsuspectingly.

Ulrich knew exactly what Odd had in his hands when he analyzed his room. "What are you doing with those!?" he questioned angrily.

"Uh, . . . oh, these? I ... need them for a school project ... that's due ... tomorrow," he stammered, trying to come up with a good lie. Ulrich was not fooled, of course.

"Odd, we're in all the same classes; I would know if there's a school project due tomorrow, so stop the horrible acting and tell me what you're doing with those!" Ulrich's head filled with angry, raging thoughts towards his friend, or supposed friend. He wondered how Odd even knew about those; he thought they were safely hidden.

"Alright, I was just ... curious?" Odd stated, although it sounded more like a question. "I wanted to know what you wrote ..."

"Well you can forget about getting those letters. They aren't meant for anyone to see them except me. Why do you think I never sent them? Stop your curiousness and get into bed, Jim might come around for a late-night inspection to see who's in their dorms and who isn't, and if you're not in bed asleep, I don't want to get into any trouble because of you."

"You're the one who snuck out already," Odd told Ulrich.

"I didn't _sneak _out."

"Then where have you been? Not on campus, I'm sure."

"Yeah well, I was at Yumi's all this time. I went to her house before curfew, and, well, why am I telling you this? It's none of your business whether I went to her house or not. Good night," Ulrich yelled angrily.

"'Night," Odd echoed, annoyed with his roommate.

Aelita and Jeremie had been working on destroying the digital walls blocking the access to the internet for hours, destroying all but two of the thirty. Around midnight, Aelita recommended that they stop for the night, get some sleep, and carry on in the morning.

Aelita woke up early that morning, took care of her morning shower, and headed over to Jeremie's room afterwards. She tapped on the door three times softly, and Jeremie opened it.

"Hi Jer! Ready to get back to destroying the walls?" she asked, excited that they'd finally be able to go back to Lyoko very soon.

"Yeah, of course! I destroyed one of the remaining two, but I can't destroy the last one. I figured I'd wait until you came, maybe you'll be able to figure it out?" he told her, with a smile, closing the door once she stepped inside.

"Alright, I'll try." Jeremie and Aelita sat on the bed, and Jeremie balanced his laptop so that he and Aelita could see.

"Hmm, this one's definitely tricky," Aelita commented, pointing to a code. She strummed her fingers on the bed, concentrating hard for about a minute or two, staring intently at the code. "Aha!" Aelita said, sitting up. "It's equal to 78,659, because if you do ..." Aelita trailed off, explaining how the code equaled that number.

"Ok, thanks, Aelita. I stared at it for probably five, ten minutes this morning, trying to figure it out. By then I was fed up with it, so I figured you might be able to decode it, and you did! Anyhow, let's crack the rest of the codes."

It took about another hour and a half to crack the rest of the codes that made up the last remaining wall. After the last code was cracked, the wall disappeared, and Aelita and Jeremie were ecstatic.

"We did it, Jer! We gained access to –" Aelita was interrupted by a beeping sound from the computer. When the duo watched the screen, a message appeared.

"_Access to the internet will only be granted if you can destroy the last barrier. Good luck,"_ Aelita read out loud, and her mouth hung open with disbelief after. "What!? Another wall?"

Jeremie looked closely at the screen, and as that message faded, another appeared. It consisted of a few words, and seven little dash-like lines under the words. _"Carthage God,"_ he read out loud. "What's that mean?Is it like a clue?"

"I guess so, maybe this wall can't be destroyed by cracking number codes; maybe this one gets destroyed by a password?"

"I guess so. Well, this obviously has to do with Carthage, but do you think it means Carthage the ancient place or Carthage as in the heart of Lyoko?" Aelita questioned.

"Uh, I don't know. Well, a god is someone who does something great, is a ruler, or ..."

Aelita interrupted. "I can't think of an actual god for Lyoko, the only ruler is Xana, and that's only four letters, not seven."

"Your dad did something great on Lyoko, he created it and protected you, but Hopper is only 6 letters, and Franz is only 5, so neither of those work either."

"It's got to be something involving the ancient city of Carthage, then. Now, I don't know that much about Carthage, just that it was founded in 814 B.C.," Aelita said, walking around with her hands behind her back, thinking.

"I know that it was founded by Phoenician settlers from the city of Tyre. I've never heard about a god from there, though."

"Think we should call a meeting with the rest of the group?" Aelita questioned, looking up at Jeremie.

"Good idea."

Everyone, including Odd, was inside Jeremie's dorm. Jeremie sat on the desk chair, and Aelita sat on the corner of the bed near the desk. On the bed were Ulrich and Yumi, with Odd on the floor.

"So, why are we here, exactly?" Odd questioned.

"Odd, we have a secret to tell you," Jeremie began his long speech introducing Odd to Lyoko, once again.

"Jeremie, I don't think we need to tell him, he can't help us anyway," Ulrich said, glaring at the boy in the center of the floor.

"I bet I could, Ulrich. Go ahead, Jeremie."

"Anyways, Odd, we know of this ... virtual world, and we fight in it, or at least all of you do, I just run the computer. We fight a virus named Xana, who tries to harm us in different attacks. We have been lucky enough to stop his attacks before anything serious has happened in the past, but ..."

"Jeremie! What do you mean nothing serious has happened before? Yumi almost died in one of Xana's attacks! Did you forget that? I almost lost her!"

"Sorry, Ulrich, I didn't forget that, of course not, I just meant that we haven't lost anyone before. But back to the explanation for Odd. So, we recently lost connection to Lyoko, and if Xana attacks while we can't get there, the world is in peril, and we can't save it this time. I discovered a passage through the Internet, but it was blocked by thirty individual virtual walls."

"Jeremie and I successfully destroyed all of the walls, but when we did, a last mega wall made itself known. This one can't be destroyed by figuring out a complex number equation," Aelita said.

"This one is solved by a word problem. We don't even have a true word problem, just the one clue of _'Carthage God,'_ and an answer of seven letters. We already ruled out the possibility of the answer being related to the Carthage that is the center of Lyoko, so the answer has to be related to Carthage as in the ancient city."

"We called this meeting to ask you all to help us do research on Carthage, to try to find the answer to the problem. If we succeed, then –"

"Melqart," Odd said, looking up at Jeremie and Aelita.

"What, Odd?"

"Melqart's the password, because in 814 B.C., the ancient city of Carthage was founded by Phoenician settlers from the City of Tyre, and when they settled it, they brought with them the city-god Melqart. Melqart. That's the password," Odd repeated.

"That makes sense! How did you know that?" Aelita questioned, as Jeremie imputed the password into the computer.

"I did some research at the library during a free period last week, and I found out that –"

"The code worked! Aelita, it worked! Odd, you did it!" Jeremie said, as Aelita looked at the screen.

"Guys, we did it! We gained access to Lyoko again! Nice, Odd!"

"Great job, Odd!" Jeremie said.

"It would have taken Aelita and I way longer than that to figure it out, so thanks, buddy!" Jeremie said.

The only one who hadn't said thanks to Odd yet was Ulrich, and he didn't want to. Yumi looked at him and scolded him. He frowned. After a moment of her scolding him, he felt guilty, and gave in.

"Alright, I've got to say thanks, Odd. Now if Xana attacks, we'll have a way into Lyoko. Great work, Odd."

"Aww, thanks, guys. It wasn't so hard; I just remembered it from past research."

"Haha, I thought I'd never hear Odd say that!" Ulrich chuckled.

Later that night, everyone was hanging at Yumi's house, watching a movie together, when a muffled urgent beeping sound commenced.

"What's that?" Odd questioned, stuffing his mouth with popcorn.

"Hey Odd, great timing earlier with the answer to that word problem, by the way," Jeremie commented.

"Why?"

"Because, that beeping sound was a Xana attack! Guys, we've got to go to the factory now!"

"Factory?"

"Odd, just follow us!" Aelita said. Yumi switched off the move and everyone ran out the door, and down to the factory.

Once inside, Jeremie rushed to the computer, and the rest of the group headed to the scanners.

"Alright, Odd, Yumi, and Aelita, get into the scanners. Ulrich, I'll materialize you after. Be careful during the trip there, this might be rougher than usual."

"Scanners?" Odd questioned.

"These tube-like things. Just stand in one and don't move. These take you to Lyoko."

"Wow this is like a huge videogame," Odd said, stepping into one, and turning around.

The trio dropped down into the Forest Sector. Moments later, Yumi was materialized.

Xana sent five Krabes, a swarm of Hornets, and three Bloks as a welcoming committee.

"Odd, use your paws as shooters for your laser arrows, and shoot the monsters in the symbol thing on their heads. If you do, they'll be destroyed. We have to find the tower, and have Aelita deactivate it before we can return, got it?" Ulrich asked, stabbing a Krabe with his katana.

"A – alright, I'll try."

"I'll handle the hornets," Yumi said, running off to them, as they were farther off on the path. She was taken by them to a section of path where it splits, and forms a circle, before reconnecting on the other side. The circle was large, but the path was barely large enough to fit two people on it. She tossed a fan at one hornet, and it destroyed it immediately. On the rebound, she sent up both fans, and successfully killed one hornet. The other fan hit a wing, and was sent astray. Not wanting to lose one fan, she tossed her other at a Hornet, and dived for the other one that was soaring down to her. While trying to catch it, she had to stand on the inner edge of the path she was standing on, and she couldn't quite reach the fan as it zoomed downwards.

She stretched more, but lost her balance. She plummeted down through the center of the circle, but managed to grasp the edge of the path. She hung there, holding on by only one hand, and memories of Saint Valentine's Day flooded her head again. On that day, she had been in the same position, suspended like this.

"Help! Ulrich! Aelita! Help me!" she called.

Down the path, Ulrich heard her screaming. "Yumi?" he questioned. "Aelita, I'm gonna go check on Yumi, she sounds like she's in trouble." Ulrich super-sprinted to where he heard her screaming, and stared in disbelief when he saw her.

"Ulrich! Help! I can't hold on for long!"

"Yumi, give me your hand," he told her, reaching out.

"I can't, if I let go, I'll fall. My other hand has my fan in it. If I drop it, I won't get it back!"

"Give me the fan and then give me that hand," he coaxed, as she tried to give her fan to him. Her body was becoming tired from her hanging on, and as she shifted her weight, her fingers slipped off of the path. Ulrich's quick reflexes grabbed her hand, as she gasped.

"Jeremie, dematerialize Yumi, quick! I can't hold on to her long!" Ulrich called to the sky.

"I'll try." Jeremie typed a few buttons, and then reported back to Ulrich. "Ulrich?"

"Yes, Jeremie?"

"Yumi's DNA is scrambled."

"What's that mean?"

"She can't be de-virtualized."

**Thanks for sticking with me, once again! I promise it won't take me months to update again. Oh, and for all of you that want Odd back to normal, stick around for a bit longer. He's gonna return soon, there's a sneak peek into upcoming chapters.**

**Review, please! **


	13. Flashback

Heyy everyone

**Heyy everyone! I know it's been... a long time since i last posted,.. I truly feel horrible for leaving everyone like that... I had so many things going on and then summer came along. Usually i can work a lot in the summer on stories but... this summer wasn't allowing me to do that. I really apologise for the wait... the really long wait... Hope you all enjoy the chapter!**

Chapter 13: Flashback

I couldn't breathe. I couldn't have just heard what I think I heard. That can't be true, can it?

"Jeremie, can you repeat that?" I asked to the sky, peering up at it, waiting for the answer I feared the most.

"Yumi, your DNA is scrambled. I can't devirtualize you easily and quickly," the voice from the sky spoke, and I could tell that he was hesitant.

"Jeremie what do you have to do to unscramble it?" my savior, and best friend, who now clung on to me literally preventing my horrific fall into the deep seas below spoke. I stared at his chocolate eyes for a moment, and couldn't help but smile. Even if I fell into the dark depths below, and wandered among the digital sea forever, I would be happy, knowing that I had a great friend, one who is trying his best to save me in a terrifying situation.

Ulrich smiled, and his grip tightened around my hand. "I won't let you go, Yumi," he spoke in his melodic voice.

"I know."

"Ulrich, Yumi," the voice from the sky bellowed downward, echoing all around.

"Yes, Jeremie?" Ulrich and I said in unison, staring up at the blue sky.

"It's going to be difficult to get her DNA unscrambled. Really difficult. I have to alter the program I have right now, because it's outdated. I really never thought to update it, I was sure that no one's DNA would end up scrambled again. I'm really sorry, Yumi."

"It's alright, Jeremie. I know your trying your hardest. How's Aelita and Odd doing with the monsters?" I said, changing the subject.

"Odd's improving a lot, but Aelita's got the most accuracy. They actually only have two hornets – wait, no make that one, Aelita just hit one with an energy field. I'll send them over to protect you two when they're done, I see two Krabbes heading towards you slowly."

I lowered my head, thinking. I saw Ulrich do the same, and simultaneously, his eyebrows rose, as if he was thinking really hard. With the hand that wasn't holding on to me, he strummed his fingers against his chin. He gazed back at the sky, and spoke. "Jeremie, why are they moving slowly?"

I pondered the same thing. Why _were _they moving slowly? If XANA knew we were as vulnerable as we were at this moment, why wasn't he taking advantage of it and attacking us? Surely he knew that if he attacked Ulrich, I would fall into the depths of the Digital Sea below, and be virtualized forever. So why wasn't he sending a swarm of Hornets or a handful of Megatanks to ambush us? I couldn't find the logic in sending just two Krabbes.

"It makes no sense, why is he only sending two?" I asked to no one in particular.

Jeremie hesitated. "I'm not sure, to be truthful. It's unusual. I'm not sure if it's just because he thinks he can get rid of you two easily, so easily that he just needs two Krabbes."

"That makes more sense, but still, it's a bit weird. You'd think he'd want to send an immense amount of monsters. Then he could just go and surprise Aelita and Odd. Well, XANA's not all that predictable sometimes. We'll just have to wait and see," Ulrich said, looking at Yumi.

He frowned slightly, wanting to get her out of that hole. He knew that he could try to pull her up, but he also knew that one bad, accidental move could send her plunging to an eternity of virtualization. He couldn't do that to her, no matter how hard he wanted to have her safely on the digital grass next to him. It bothered him so much that she was literally hanging on for her life, and that all he was doing was crouching there, hanging on to her.

I really never realized how strong Ulrich was. He seemed like he wasn't having any trouble hanging on to me. I wasn't surprised he wasn't trying to pull me up. I knew very well that if he tried to get me back on solid ground, he would slip, and both of us would come tumbling down to the sea below.

"Jer, how's your program updates coming?" I questioned again.

"Alright, I edited the program and now I'm just installing some new things to help it run smooth, because otherwise I might de-virtualize you and you might be missing a limb, and we wouldn't want you to have only one arm or leg, would we?" Jeremie kidded, and Ulrich chuckled. I smirked and joined in with the laughter. "It's about thirteen percent done, and I'm sending Odd and Aelita over now, they destroyed the last hornet a while ago, but our favorite computer virus sent over a whole herd of Kankrelats. Can you two hang on for a few more minutes, no pun intended?"

Ulrich sighed and looked at the light blue sky. "Jeremie, don't rush the program. If I fall, I fall. It wouldn't be anyone's fault but my own."

"Yumi! Don't say that! If you fall, it would be my fault, because I'm the one who's holding on to you right now."

I paused, and then opened my mouth to speak. Closing it, I realized I should hold my tongue right now. I was going to argue my side of the disagreement, but I figured I should put that aside until I was on flat ground again.

Two patterns of footsteps approached. One was a normal two-footed pattern, the other, a four-limbed pattern. "Whoa, I'm gettin' better at this whole running-with-four-paws deal, it's a lot faster than only on two feet," I heard Odd say.

"How are you guys holding up?" Aelita questioned in her soft voice.

"Alright, but speaking of that, Yumi, let's try to switch hands. I can imagine your arm is starting to ache. You've been down in that hole for eight minutes now," Ulrich said, reaching his right arm to me. He tightened his grip on my right hand, and I grasped his right hand with my own.

"Got it," I confirmed. We simultaneously let go of each other's left hand, and now I was suspended only by my right. I didn't realize it until now that my shoulder was aching. I rolled my shoulder around a few times, and flexed my arm. "That feels better, thanks."

"I figured it must have – "

"Heads up, Aelita and Odd, two Krabbes approaching from the West," Jeremie warned. Aelita opened and closed her hands a few times, and Odd checked his wrists to make sure he had ammo left.

"All set, Jeremie. Bring it on, XANA," Odd said with a grin.

Aelita leapt to the side, as the spot where she was just standing flashed, it was hit with a shot from the Krabbe. As it came around the corner, Odd took aim, and shot a laser arrow. It bounced off of the head, not quite hitting in the right spot.

"Dang, and I thought I was doing so much better," he said, disappointed. Aelita charged an energy field, and Odd tried another round of laser arrows on the Krabbe. With his accuracy a sliver better, he hit spot-on, and the Krabbe flashed, before disappearing.

I smiled. Jeremie was right, Odd was getting much better. Hopefully though, his memory would return fully very soon. "Nice job, Odd!" I said, holding up a thumbs-up so that he could see it.

"Yeah, great job," Ulrich said, less enthusiastic than I. He still wasn't happy about his friend betraying him by looking in his personal letters.

"The program's at forty-three percent complete," Jeremie announced.

Aelita shot her energy field at the last remaining Krabbe now. It hit, but wasn't powerful enough to destroy it. Ulrich suddenly fell to the side, and skidded along the ground. The impact of the ground loosened our grip, and I struggled to hang on. Holding on by only my fingertips, I tried not to panic. Ulrich had been hit in the side by the Krabbe, and Aelita ran to protect him as he strained to get back up, but I knew that losing over half of your life points in a few shots takes a toll on you, and he was still recovering. I prayed that I wouldn't lose hold of his hand.

"Sixty-seven percent," Jeremie proclaimed.

Ulrich steadied himself; balancing on one knee, watching all around. Ulrich had a solemn face, and I could tell that he was unsure of what he should do. He's always trying to act heroically, especially when I'm involved, (or, at least that's what Aelita hinted to me). He was running out of energy, fast. His face seemed to become paler, if that's possible while being virtual, and he looked like he could collapse any second. I prayed that he'd be able to hold on, selfishly indeed. I knew that as soon as he let me go, I'd be gone.

"The program's entering the speedy portion of the process; it should be ready to devirtualize Yumi in a few minutes, tops."

"A few minutes?!" Aelita cried. Jeremie, Ulrich's almost ready to drop, and Odd and I are trying our best, but XANA's sending out loads of Hornets! Can't you speed it up a bit?"

A huff could be heard echoing through the digital sky, and then a sigh followed.

"Aww, it's okay, he's trying his best," I spoke.

"Yeah, but Aelita's right, there's got to be a way for this to speed up, but the risk of me playing around with it without doing research is risky, it might corrupt the program."

Ulrich closed his eyes, and seemed to be in thought for a few seconds. "That's okay, Jeremie, don't try to speed it up. I think I'm able to hold through for a while," the chocolate-eyed boy said. He looked at my face, and smiled.

Just as Aelita and Odd were finishing off a group of Hornets, XANA sent in another handful in, and they went from fighting one to the other right after the last one was destroyed in the first group. A laser arrow shot one way, an Energy Field the other. Hornets were being taken down one by one, as quickly as they could.

Then, off in the distance, I think I could hear the rumbling of an approaching monster. The noise resembled a rolling toy, gliding across the ground making up this sector.

"Uhh, guys I think I hear a Megatank," I warned.

"Really?" Aelita questioned, looking in my direction.

"Yeah, it sounds like one."

"I agree, now that you mention it, I do hear a rolling noise," Ulrich commented.

Just as soon as he said that, the Megatank I heard rolled out into the view of the others, and Aelita gasped.

"Heads up guys, XANA's bringing out the heavy artillery," Jeremie warned, as four Krabbes, another swarm of Hornets, and three Bloks came into view along with Megatank.

Odd looked at Aelita with a questioned look, and then looked at the Megatank. "How are we supposed to kill that thing? It doesn't have a sign like the others!" With that said the Megatank proved Odd wrong, by opening up and shooting at him. He jumped to the side out of instinct, and just missed the blast that would have been enough to devirtualize him.

"Good jump, Odd," Aelita commented.

"Thanks," Odd said, huffing. He caught his breath and stood up again, with the help of Aelita's outstretched hand.

"How close to done is the program updates, Jer?" Ulrich asked. I just sighed; he was too pushy with things like this.

"About eighty-seven percent, it will take only about three minutes more, at the most. Then we'll be good to launch it and devirtualize Yumi safely and soundly."

"That's great Jeremie" Aelita said.

The fight against XANA carried on, with Aelita and Odd conquering monster after monster.

Two and a half minutes later, everyone sighed with relief as Jeremie announced what they had all wanted to hear. The program updates were complete and he was able to launch the devirtualization process. Ulrich looked down at me and we smiled in unison. Holding my hand, he gave it a gentle reassuring squeeze. Then, I faded from his grip. I could feel him watching me devirtualize successfully, and digital bits disappear among the digital air.

The terrifying flash back of Valentine's day had ended, and I was returning home, to safety.

"Thanks, Jeremie," Ulrich said, standing up.

"No problem. Now wrap up that trip, everyone."

**Soooooooo? What are your thoughts? Should i have changed it...? Made it more dramatic? More suspenseful? I'm not sure if this is how i liked it to go exactly... Anyways... Review! Please!**


	14. A New Plan

**Ooookay! So for all of you who may have thought I fell of the planet, I haven't! I just really didn't have time to work on any fanfics, and I quite frankly lost interest! But hey, I'm back now! I have a whole new idea for this story, so I'm excited to start to let it unfold! **

**Please please please review! **

Chapter Fourteen: A New Plan

_Beep! Beep! Beep! _

Groggily, Ulrich opened one eye just barely, and reached his hand over to his nightstand, hitting his alarm clock. The obnoxious beeping silenced, and his arm dropped to the side of the bed. He sat up, still half asleep, and stretched.

Odd was sprawled out in his bed, still asleep, with his arms and legs amuck. The blankets were falling off the side of the bed, half on the floor.

"Odd, wake up..."

The only response Ulrich received was a long, loud, snore from his roommate. He sighed, and glanced at the floor. Spotting one of Odd's shoes, he grinned mischievously. Reaching down, he grabbed the shoe, and gagged. The odor coming from it was wretched. Ulrich tossed the shoe in Odd's direction, and it bounced slightly when hitting the bed. Landing precisely where Ulrich had hoped, the shoe was positioned right under Odd's nose.

As if on cue, Odd breathed in, and consequently jumped up.

"What the...?! Ick!" The blankets were tossed aside and Odd moved to the other end of the bed. "Aww that's nasty!"

"It's your own shoe, buddy," Ulrich said, laughing. "Now you get why we all hate your feet?"

Odd smiled and shrugged his shoulders, and said, "Eh, it's not all that bad. Just one heck of a wakeup call if you're not expecting it. Did my feet always smell like this?"

Ulrich walked over to the dresser, slid open the third drawer, and pulled out a pair of jeans. Reaching in the drawer above, he pulled out a green shirt.

"Unfortunately for my sake, yeah, your feet always had an awful stench. That's putting it lightly," Ulrich said to Odd.

A loud but short singing of the words "BREAK BREAK BREAKDANCE!" signaled that Odd had a text message. Ulrich glanced over and watched Odd as he read it. He quickly scanned over the message and then, almost too quickly, put his phone back into his pocket. Ulrich raised an eyebrow in suspicion. What was the rush about? He wondered if it was something that wasn't supposed to be seen by anyone else but Odd.

"What was that about?" Ulrich questioned. Odd stood up and started to rummage around for some clean clothes to change into.

"Oh, uh, that was… Sam. She wants to go skateboarding," Odd replied, with slight hesitancy in his voice. He grinned an awkward, faked grin.

"… Oh. Have fun," Ulrich said flatly. He knew Odd was up to something. He had been for a while now. If only they could figure out what.

Odd finished changing rather quickly, tossing aside his pajamas on his bed, which slid off onto a knee-high pile of clothes at the foot of the bed. He put on his sneaker that had been his wake-up call, and then glanced around the room, looking for its mate.

"Have you seen my other shoe?"

"Try looking under your bed."

Odd got up on his bed and stuck his head over the side, peering under the bed with his head upside down. Ulrich rolled his eyes. Even if he didn't have his memory, he still sometimes acted like the old Odd, like this time.

"Found it!" He said, pulling it out from under the bed. Sitting with his feet hanging over the bedside, he put his shoe on and then stepped down off the bed, and walked to the door. As he turned the doorknob, he said, "Bye."

"See ya," Ulrich said unenthusiastically. The slam of the dorm door woke Kiwi up, who had been sleeping in the makeshift bed, the bottom drawer of the wardrobe. He whined two short little whines, and sleepily lifted his head towards Ulrich. Kiwi jumped out of the drawer and let out a yip.

"Odd didn't feed you, did he, Buddy?" Kiwi yipped in response. "Alright, quiet. I'll feed you." Ulrich walked over to the desk and opened up the bottom drawer on the right hand side and pulled out a dog food bag, and a black bowl with green dog prints on either side of the green writing that spelled out "Kiwi." After he placed the dish on the ground, he poured the last of the food into it, and Kiwi started happily chomping away at it. Ulrich rolled up the bag, and tossed it in the garbage can. To make sure that it wasn't visible in case Jim did one of his random room inspections for anything that wasn't supposed to be there, Ulrich took some old science notes he didn't need anymore and crumpled them up and put them on top of the dog food bag.

"There you go, Kiwi," he said, patting the small dog on the head. "Now be a good boy, and I'll be back later. I'm going to go see Yumi for a while." Kiwi curled back up on his makeshift bed, and Ulrich headed out of the dorm, to go find Yumi.

…………….

Odd knocked three quick times, and William opened the door.

"Hey, Odd. Where are the letters?" William asked, looking questionably at Odd's empty hands. "I thought we were supposed to go through them to find one that could fit Sissy?"

Odd sat down on William's bed, and William sat in the desk chair. "Ulrich caught me snooping in them and hid them somewhere else, so I don't have them." William balled up his fist, and hit the desk.

"Dammit! Now what are we supposed to do to break Yumi and that idiot apart?"

Odd grinned mischievously. "I have another idea. Something that's pretty much guaranteed to work." William raised an eyebrow.

"Go on," William said. Odd stood up and faced William.

"We have to go somewhere off campus for my plan. But you have to promise me you won't tell a soul where we went or how to get there."

"Okay. Sure. Promise."

"Follow me, then," Odd said, opening the door, and before stepping out, he closed it again. "One more thing. Make sure we're not followed. That's important, okay?"

"Got it. Let's go, lead the way." Odd opened the door and lead William down the stairs and outside, and to the entrance to the park area.

"Where we have to go is through here, and then it gets a little complicated. Just warning you." William nodded, and Odd lead the way into the park. Down the dirt path, into the center of the forest they walked. The trees ahead created a canopy that usually held out a lot of light. Today was one of those days. More than enough to see, but nothing like the light hitting campus in other areas than the park. The path wound in and out of trees and rocks, and after about five minutes of walking, Odd stopped and began walking off the path. William continued to follow.

"You sure you know where we're going, Odd?"

"Yeah. Just follow me for about three more minutes."

And so he did. Odd approached the rusty old manhole cover in the middle of the park, and got down on his knees to slide it aside.

"We have to go through here to get there," Odd said, putting his feet on the rungs of the ladder and beginning to climb down.

"… Okay?" William said, and descended down the ladder when Odd was out of the way, in the sewers below.

"Be sure to pull the cover back over the hole so we don't get any wanderers going down here if they find it." William nodded and slid it shut, then dropped down to where Odd was.

Looking around, he saw he was on the concrete side walk-like area in the sewer tunnels. He wrinkled his nose in disgust and confusion, and looked at Odd.

"Stop looking at me like I have three heads, please." Odd told him. William relaxed his expressions. "We have to continue down this tunnel and then you'll see where we're going. Here, take a skateboard," he said, as he took one for himself from the three that were resting along the wall. The sound of the wheels when they took off echoed all around.

The ride to the factory was short, as always, with the skateboards. Once inside the factory, William stopped again to look all around. The ceilings had to be at least two stories high, and the exposed equipment that was still in the factory collecting dust made him wonder where we are.

Seeing the expression on William's face, Odd told him where they were. "We're in the old automobile factory not too far away from the school. Here, we need to go down this elevator."

"This better not be a joke, Odd. This place is… Creepy. Why are we here? How the hell will this place help us break Yumi and Ulrich up?" Odd hit the button, and the motor kicked on, noisily pulling the old metal elevator up. When it arrived, the two stepped inside and Odd typed in the code, and the elevator began descending back down.

"You'll see when we get there. Just trust me, William."

The elevator door opened up and revealed the gold and silvery-black colored door, which held behind it the Super Computer room. The gold and silvery-black door retracted, and William's jaw dropped at the sight of the Super-Computer room.

"What the hell is this place?"

"Welcome to the Super Computer room, William."

……………

It was a little after midday, and Ulrich and Yumi were hanging out at her house, lying on the floor with DVD's and cases all around them. The Subsonics played in the background.

"What movie do you want to watch?" Ulrich asked.

"Hmm… I don't know. I've seen half of these already," Yumi said.

"So have I. Hmm… How about we go see a movie later instead? At the theaters?"

"That sounds fun. I'd love to," Yumi said. Ulrich leaned over and kissed Yumi's lips. She smiled and kissed back.

"I love you," she said afterwards with a smile.

"I love you too, Yumi."

"So… What do you wanna do now?" she asked.

Ulrich fell silent for a few moments, thinking. "Well, you did say you wanted to learn how to play soccer right?"

"Yeah," Yumi said. Ulrich sat up.

"How about we go practice for a while?"

Yumi smiled and stood up. Reaching a hand out to Ulrich, she helped him up, and then he pulled her into his arms.

"Let's go play some soccer," she said, and kissed him lightly.

**Alrighty! There's the next chapter in this story! I was going to make it longer but, hey, I want to hear what you think Odd's doing with William in the Super Computer room. Don't worry. You'll find out next chapter. And hey, if you read and favorited this story before and you stuck with it by reading this chapter after all the time that I didn't update, I'll be glad to hear that. **

**Oh, and I was thinking about giving this story a re-vamp. A re-do of the chapters. Especially the earliest ones. What are your ideas/feelings about that? Tell me! **

**Review please!**


	15. A Recipe For Disaster

**Here's chapter fifteen! I'm proud to report that it's my looooongest chapter yet… about a full 10 pages on Microsoft word. Enjoy, and pleaseeeeeeee review!**

Chapter Fifteen: A Recipe For Disaster

Odd sat in the oversized chair in front of the Super Computer monitor, staring at it closely. He wore Jeremie's headset that he always had on while working at the computer. William stood behind, with one hand on the back of the chair. He drummed his fingers impatiently.

"Tell me what we're doing here, Odd," he said, his voice a tad annoyed. Odd didn't even hint at what they were doing here.

Odd's fingers clacked noisily away at the keys, and he opened various windows.

"Okay. There's this software here that is a voice converter type machine."

"A voice what?"

Odd sighed and rolled his eyes, but William didn't see.

"You can call any cell phone and by using this software, it changes your voice. All it needs is a sample of the voice you want to use."

"So you mean we could sound like Yumi, or Ulrich?" William said. Odd located the program he needed, and closed the other windows he didn't need.

"Yes. Ulrich's voice is already saved onto here, and so is Yumi's, Aelita's, Jeremie's, as well as mine. So, all we ha-"

William held out his hands in a "wait" signal. He walked to the right of the chair, and put his back to the monitor to face Odd.

"I know your friends are really weird, Odd. And you're always together. What the hell is this place? And what's it for? Is this something that nerd Jeremie put together with some money from his rich parents or something?" Odd scowled at William for a moment, and crossed his arms. With his blonde hair and posture, as well as the headset he wore, when Odd sat in this chair he bore a strange and uncanny resemblance to Jeremie. Right now, he looked like a mad version of his friend, however.

"Okay. Let's get something straight. We agree on some things, like the fact that Ulrich and Yumi shouldn't be together, yes. But you must remember, William, that these people still are my friends. I don't like my friends being made fun of." Odd took his left arm and put his elbow on the armrest, and propped his head up with his hand. He let the other arm fall to his side.

William stepped back a half-step and his mouth dropped a bit in surprise. Shaking his head, he wiped away the surprised look. He completely he had asked what this place was.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"Okay. Now can I carry on?" Odd asked, gesturing with his right hand to the computer screen. William glanced at it.

"Yeah."

"Anyways, I was saying, all we have to do is call up Sissi, and imitate Ulrich with this software. We can ask her to the dance tomorrow night and everything. She'd be too excited to have any doubt it's him, and if she asks, we'll make up some story about how he's not going with Yumi." William grinned.

Odd clicked a button that read "Choose A Voice", and a sub-menu popped down with the names of the people already pre-loaded in the Super Computer. When Odd clicked Ulrich's name, his picture appeared below on the main window. To the side it said "Number To Be Called," with a box after it. He clicked inside the box, and then William reached into his pocket and took out his cell phone. When he was done scrolling through the addresses and found Sissi's number, he read it aloud to Odd.

"Her number's 895-392-0948," William said. After Odd finished typing in the number, a new button showed up below the phone number that read "Call."

"Now all I have to do is hit this and it'll convert my voice to Ulrich's. It's that easy."

"Wow. Okay. Do it."

Odd hit "Call," and then a button appeared of a speaker. Clicking it put the call on speaker phone, and the ringing of Sissi's phone echoed through the Super-Computer room, so that William could hear the conversation too.

"Hello?" Sissi answered in a peppy tone.

"Hey Sissi, it's Ulrich," Odd said, although his voice sounded exactly like Ulrich's.

A split second of silence was destroyed by a girly giggle.

"Oh, hello Ulrich. I knew someday you'd call." Sissi bought it, although William couldn't think of a reason why she wouldn't. The program was flawless.

"Er, uh, yeah. Well, I had something to ask you." Odd glanced up at William, who grinned and did a "thumbs up" signal. Odd nodded in response.

"What do you want to ask me?" Sissi asked, her voice curious. She tried to sound alluring. Odd had to stifle a laugh, in fear of blowing his cover. William shot him a warning glance, and Odd retracted the smile.

"I'm sure you know about the dance that's happening tomorrow night, right?" Odd asked.

Sissi squealed slightly. "Yes!" Her voice had returned to the peppy state it had been in earlier.

"Well, I was wondering if you'd like to go with me. If you'd like to be my date," Odd said. He glanced at William for a split second. William held up a hand and crossed his fingers.

"Yes! Yes yes yes! I would love to! Oh, Ulrich! I knew someday you'd call and ask me that," Sissi said. Odd imagined her jumping up and down with happiness.

"Okay, great. I'll meet you at the dance. I have detention with Jim that ends five minutes before it. Go figure," Odd said.

"Wait, what about Yumi? I mean, I saw you walking around with her all yesterday and such. I thought you were a couple or something."

Odd turned towards William, and bit his lip. Then, a millisecond later, his eyes lit up and William knew he had an idea. "Ah, we were, yeah. But she's being a total bitch. There's drama at home, and she's brought it in between us. Right now, I'd much rather not have to deal with the emotional headache that she is," Odd continued to lie.

"Oh. Okay then. I won't argue with that. Ha!"

"Yeah. Well, I got to go. Jim wanted to talk to me about my detention. See you tomorrow, Sissi."

"Okay, Ulrich. See you tomorrow." Sissi excitedly hung up the phone, and Odd closed out of the voice software.

He stood up and grinned evilly at William. "That went well."

"Very well," he said. "We fooled her. Hahaha. And that was a lot easier and quicker than sending her a fake letter would have been." William held his fist out in front of him, and Odd bumped his fist to William's.

"We did it. Now we can leave, before Einstein happens to find us here. I wouldn't want to have to explain to him why we're here. Me, he'd understand. You, he might get angry at."

"Okay. Let's go," William said. Odd and William picked up their skateboards and headed back out of the Super-Computer room, and up in the elevator. They skated through the empty factory back to the sewer tunnel entrance, and through the tunnels, with Odd in the lead.

"Hey, Odd, I have a question though," William said when they were putting back their skateboards next to Yumi's skateboard and the two scooters.

"Shoot."

"We fooled Sissi now, but what happens when Ulrich shows up with Yumi, and Sissi sees?"

Odd grinned. "That'll create major turmoil and drama, knowing Sissi. And so hopefully Ulrich messes up his words. I can almost guarantee there'll be a huge scene. Sissi will surely insist he called her, and lately Yumi has been trusting, but not too trusting. So, it's a recipe for disaster."

William laughed, with a lot of malevolence in his voice.

"Great thinking, Odd. I'm glad we agreed to work together on this."

"So am I, William," Odd said. "So am I," he repeated.

Odd climbed up the ladder that lead to the manhole in the park, and pushed it aside. He stuck his head out just enough to peer around, making sure he didn't see nor hear anyone nearby.

"Coast is clear," he commented, and climbed out of the hole. William followed, and replaced the manhole cover.

………………..

It was about four o'clock, and Yumi and Ulrich were lying out on the soccer field on their backs, looking up at the puffy white clouds that inhabited the sky. Yumi's left hand was on the ground at her side, and Ulrich placed his right hand over it. She smiled, and pointed up at the sky with her other hand.

"Look, look! I see a bunny. See the tail? And there's the ears," she said, pointing to a cloud that was above them.

"And there's its feet," Ulrich said, pointing up at the same cloud.

"I wish I had a bunny. They're so cute," Yumi said, turning her head to look at Ulrich. He smiled, and brushed away a strand of hair that fell into her face when she turned her head.

"You know something?" Ulrich asked.

"What?"

Ulrich grinned and moved his hand off of Yumi's and put it near her shoulder. In one quick movement, he shifted himself so he was leaning over Yumi, with his other hand on the other side of her. Being as athletic as he was, he could hold his weight up with no problem. He leaned down and kissed her.

Yumi smiled. "Ulrich, we're still on school grounds."

"I love you, Ms. Ishiyama," he whispered after.

"I love you too, but you should probably get off me."

Ulrich frowned and moved away so he was sitting next to her. "Sorry, that was a bad idea."

Yumi sat up. "No, it wasn't. It's just that we're still on school grounds. That's probably not something we should be doing on school grounds."

"Like I said, bad idea. Sorry." Ulrich stood up, and Yumi did too. She took his hand, and he attempted to wriggle his hand free, but she tightened her grip just enough so that he stopped. "I should probably get back to the dorm," he said, starting to walk away. Yumi tightened her grip even more. "It's almost dinner time," Ulrich mumbled, looking towards the dorms and away from Yumi.

Yumi frowned and took two steps closer to him. Placing her right hand on his cheek, she gently moved his face so that he was looking at her. "You're not mad at me, right?" she asked in a small voice.

"No, of course not."

"You're not mad at yourself either, right?" Yumi asked. Ulrich's eyes flashed downwards to the ground.

"No…" he mumbled. Yumi sighed and tapped his chin to make him look back up at her.

"Ulrich, please. Don't be mad. I just don't want Jim to come by and get us into trouble or anything. Summer detentions aren't what I really want."

"You have a point. Sorry I acted how I did," Ulrich said.

Yumi kissed him lightly. "It's fine. But hey, why don't we do something tonight before the movies? For dinner, perhaps?"

"Ah? Like what?"

"How about we go back to my house for dinner and order out? Chinese food sound good?" Yumi asked.

"Mmmm that sounds yummy… and definitely better than the school food. Let's go."

Yumi and Ulrich walked across the soccer field, and over to the gates, hand in hand.

…………….

"No, no, let me help you. You're holding them wrong," Yumi said with a laugh. She set her bowl of noodles down on the coffee table in front of them and turned towards Ulrich, who was struggling with his chopsticks.

"I never understood how to work chopsticks."

"It's not complicated at all. All you need is a little practice," Yumi said, reassuringly.

"I couldn't ever work them," he said, holding the chopsticks out to Yumi. She took them out of his hand and laid them on the table next to her bowl.

"Watch me," Yumi said. She took her right hand and positioned it to where it needed to be. "Copy this position."

Ulrich nodded and positioned his hand like Yumi's. She took one chopstick and put it under her thumb. Ulrich did the same.

"Good. Now take the other chopstick and put it like this." Ulrich copied Yumi's movements.

"Like this?" he asked.

"Yeah. Now move the second chopstick like this," Yumi said while demonstrating. Ulrich struggled at first with it.

"Ah, I can't do that."

Yumi sighed. "Don't be a pessimist. Just keep trying."

"Okay."

Yumi picked up her bowl again, and easily picked up a few noodles with the chopsticks.

"Try that," Yumi told him. He picked up his bowl, and tried. He bit his tongue and took up an expression of confusion and hard concentration. The noodles slipped out of the chopsticks and back into the bowl. Ulrich frowned.

"I tried. And failed."

Yumi laughed. "Well, that's okay. A little practice and you'll get better."

Ulrich tried and tried again, and eventually improved a little bit with using chopsticks. Yumi had to help him out a little bit here and there, and a few times had to laugh. Chopsticks just didn't like him.

"Are we still going to the movies later?" Ulrich asked when he had finished his food.

"Hmm… Well, I'm kinda in the mood to just hang out actually. Is… that okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. Actually, that's what I'm in the mood for right now anyways. But, is it okay with your mom? I don't want to be intrusive. We were supposed to go out tonight."

"I'm pretty sure, but if you want I'll ask." Yumi set her empty bowl on the coffee table and stood up.

"Thanks," Ulrich said. Yumi walked to the kitchen, where she found her mom reading a magazine.

"I was wondering if it was okay for Ulrich to stay here for a few more hours. We decided we didn't want to go see a movie right now."

"Yes, that's fine," Yumi's mother replied, looking up from the magazine.

"Thanks." Yumi spun around and headed back into the living room.

………………..

Morning had come and gone quickly, and the Lyoko gang hadn't heard anything from Odd. He had left early that morning, according to a note Ulrich found on the desk. No one knew why, however. The note didn't specify.

………………..

About an hour before the dance, Sam called Odd.

"Hello?" Odd said when he answered the phone.

"Odd? Where are you? I've been trying to reach you all day," Sam asked. Her voice was slightly frantic.

"Don't worry. I was out buying stuff."

Sam was quiet for about five seconds. "Stuff? Like what?" In the back of her mind, she considered the worst. She shook her head. No, not even this Odd would do that.

"Yeah, I bought new skateboard wheels….. and something else, for you."

"Something else for me?" Sam questioned. She began to wonder what it was. Something for her skateboard? Jewelry? _Nah_, she thought, _he wouldn't buy me jewelry. Since he lost his memory he doesn't know we were a couple before._

"You'll see, later at the dance. Okay?" Sam smiled.

"Okay."

"I'll meet you outside the gym for the dance," Odd said. "Oh, and I can't wait to hear you DJ tonight." Sam smiled again.

"Thanks, Odd. I'll see you tonight,"

"Bye," Odd said. Sam said goodbye, and hung up.

………………..

Odd grinned, and turned to William.

"Tonight's going to be an interesting night," William said with an evil grin on his face.

"Oh yes. One hell of an interesting night…. If it goes well, anyways."

"Dude, think about it. It's foolproof. After tonight, Ulrich and Yumi will be history. It's just how we want it to be."

"Just how it should be," Odd said.

………………..

Jim stood outside the gym doors, greeting the dance guests as they came. He wore a gray tuxedo suit, which made him look a little bit more dressed up than usual. But, the band-aid that he always wore on his cheek made the outfit less dressy.

"Oh, hello Ulrich and Yumi," he said. Ulrich wore a deep blue polo shirt, and black pants. Yumi stood beside him, in a simple, but pretty, all-black dress. She wore red and black plaid heels, which complimented black fingerless gloves she wore that had red lace trim. The necklace she wore was a rose, and was a gift from Ulrich.

"Hey Jim," Ulrich said. Yumi smiled and said hello. Ulrich put his right hand on her waist and they walked inside the gym together. The music was blasting, and colorful lights were moving all around the room, on the walls, the ceiling, and the floor. Yumi recognized the music style, and glanced up at the DJ table to see Aelita, deep into thought with the music. Jeremie watched nearby with a smile.

"Yumi! Ulrich!" A familiar voice called, and the two turned to see Sam hurrying over towards them.

"Hey Sam!" Yumi said, and then hugged Sam. Odd had followed behind

Sam, and waved at Ulrich and Yumi. Ulrich waved back reluctantly. He still wasn't too pleased that Odd went through those letters of his.

"Hey Ulrich," Sam said.

"Hello," Ulrich said.

Yumi noticed the skateboard necklace that was around Sam's neck that had her name inscribed on it, and said, "Ooooh isn't that pretty! Where'd you get that?"

Sam smiled and said, "Odd bought it for me, when he was gone earlier. I love it." She smiled and looked at Odd. He was looking over in one corner, where William was.

"I'll… be right back. I need to go to the bathroom," Odd said. The group nodded, and he left in the opposite direction of William.

"Well, I think I'm going to go get a drink. Do you want anything, Yumi? Sam?" Ulrich asked.

"Yeah, actually. I'll take a soda, please," Yumi said.

"No thanks, I'm okay," Sam replied. Ulrich nodded and left, weaving in and out of the crowd on the dance floor towards the refreshment table.

When he reached the table, someone grabbed his arm from behind.

"Hey Ulrich," Sissi said, pulling him a little closer to her. "There you are. Dance with me," she said with a giggle.

"Sorry, Sissi. Like any other day, I have to say no," he said with a slightly angry tone, brushing her hand off of his arm.

Sissi crossed her arms, and twisted her expression to one of shock and confusion. "Excuse me? You're my date tonight, so stop treating me like I'm nothing to you."

Ulrich laughed with disgust. Sissi stepped closer and started dancing with Ulrich.

Before he got a chance to pull away from her, he heard an unhappy familiar voice behind him.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Yumi asked. Ulrich stepped away, and glanced at both girls. Sissi was grinning, and Yumi was scowling. Odd showed up a few seconds later, and William joined them.

"Yumi! I swear. She just-"

"I was dancing with my date," Sissi said. "He called me up yesterday and asked if I would be his date, to replace you," Sissi spat at Yumi.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Yumi said. "He's MY boyfriend." She stepped towards Sissi, with her hands clenched into fists.

"HA!" Sissi said. "He said you were being a bitch and he'd MUCH rather have me for a date." Ulrich stood in shock.

"… This is getting good …" Odd said to William in a quiet voice.

"Oh yeah it is. Catfights are hilarious."

"Ulrich what the hell is she talking about?" Yumi asked, turning towards Sissi.

"I… I have no clue. I never-"

Sissi snarled. "Now, now, Ulrich. We don't need you to lie. You know you're my date."

Yumi bared her teeth at Sissi, and stepped forward towards her.

"You rotten little skanky bitch. If you don't shut the hell up right now you're pretty pearly white teeth will be on the gym floor." Sissi raised her hands and went to shove Yumi.

Sissi lunged towards Yumi, but Yumi ducked out of the way and kicked Sissi's leg. Sissi staggered back, which gave Yumi some time to plan her next move. Ulrich stood watching, unsure of what to do.

Sissi swiped at Yumi's face with her newly manicured sharp nails, but grabbed hair instead. Yumi squeaked in pain and hissed, "Bitch!"

When Sissi let go of Yumi's hair, she went to attack Yumi again, but Odd stepped in, trying to stop the girls from hurting each other. He didn't want the drama to turn into any injuries.

Odd was pushed aside by Sissi, who was blinded by anger. He wobbled backwards, and stepped on a stray piece of melting ice. Odd slipped backwards, and fell down, bashing his head on the refreshment table, which consequently knocked him out cold.

**Well, there it is! Chapter fifteen all finished. So… What do you think will happen to Odd? Hmm? Review please! I love hearing everyone's opinions. Next chapter is comin' up soon!**


End file.
